The Last Great House of Krypton
by Supernurse
Summary: This story continues the Sacrifies AU. Clark realizes that he harbors the last of his people. He's tormented by self doubt, fear and pain from his lingering wounds. What makes things worse is that he doesn't know if his powers will ever return. Follow our hero's trials.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Hello everyone. Welcome to this alternate universe. This fiction continues the story _**What Sacrifices for the Survival of the Species.**_ This new fiction is _**The Last Great House of Krypton.**_ I will try to update this story once per week.

Clark is now caring for his children independently, without his powers, as a single parent. He doubts his abilities but he still needs to fit into human society. Please read on and enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't receive any remuneration from DC Comics. I just enjoy playing with their toys. Any similarity to any person living or deceased is purely coincidental. Please note that the Taco Palace is based on Taco Bell. I love their food but on to the story that picks up immediately from the last chapter of _**What Sacrifices …**_

_**Clark Kent's Home**_

Martha and Ben packed up their truck to return to Smallville after resting for a few hours. The responsibilities of two farms weighed heavily on their shoulders. They worried about Clark since he lost his powers but Clark knew that the time had come when he would be alone caring for his children. He bade them farewell and returned to his back porch, to watch the night sky, secure in the knowledge that Jason, Jordan and Karala slept peacefully in their beds. He couldn't help but review the events of the past year as he drifted off into a fitful sleep.

Nightmares plagued him as he slept in a lawn chair. His mind and body were exhausted from his last trial. The AI that inhabited the Fortress of Solitude was so corrupted by Lex Luthor that it had to be eliminated. Clark regretted this action because the spirits of his biological parents embodied in the AI had provided him with valuable information across the years. Its last few actions however had a profound impact on his life. While attempting to reset and reactivate the AI, he triggered the reproduction subroutine. The AI, using advanced Kryptonian technology, inserted an artificial birthing matrix into his body. Two separate sets of embryonic DNA were added to the matrix. He and his betrothed, Zara produced a male embryo and his cousin, Kara along with her betrothed's DNA produced a female embryo. The AI's intention was that Clark's children would eventually mate to produce genetically pure Kryptonian offspring. One solar year after conception, he gave birth by Caesarean Section to two healthy infants. However, Clark's body was severely taxed by the experience. He lost all of his gifts and must now breast feed the infants for at least one year since they cannot survive yet on nutrients produced on Earth.

He shivered in the cool morning air as the sun cleared the horizon. Wisps of fog hung close to the ground making the air colder than what one would expect in early September. The silence of the morning was pierced by the solitary wail of an infant, slightly louder than what one would expect from an eight week old baby. The wail was suddenly accompanied by a second baby's cry.

"The cacophony begins early this morning. I better get moving." He glanced at his watch. "Boy, it's 4:23 am. I missed their midnight feeding. They must be hungry." Carefully shifting his body to avoid irritating his back, he stood up stiffly and entered the playroom. The wounds from his flogging the previous night smarted worse than ever and adhered to his clothing. Every move pulled and reopened the wounds making him feel more miserable. He entered the nursery to find Jordan on his side pulling at the crib bumpers & Karala's diaper was so saturated that her crib's bedding was wet.

He dealt first with Karala whose cry had a sense of urgency. "Okay Little Miss. Daddy's here & will clean you up right now. She responded positively to his gentle ministrations by babbling as he used warm baby wipes to cleanse her skin, apply a clean diaper & fresh pajamas. By time he finished with her, Jason stood at the door, rubbing sleep from his eyes.

"Good morning Daddy Clark," he yawned. "What's for breakfast?" as he padded barefoot into the nursery while scratching his stomach. "Can we have pancakes today? Mommy always makes pancakes for Sunday breakfast."

Clark looked from Karala to Jason then to Jordan who continued to pull at the crib's bumper. He wondered how single parents balance three children's needs without going crazy. "Sure Sport. How about we go get you a glass of milk? It's still early and I need to feed the babies. After I feed them, we'll make some blueberry pancakes the same way Grandma Martha does.

"Okay Daddy Clark," said Jason sleepily as he climbed onto the futon in the nursery. He looked at Clark as he yawned again. "Did you sleep in your clothes last night? Your shirt is sticking to your back."

"It's okay Jason. I'll take a shower after the babies are fed." He looked to the futon to find that Jason had already drifted back to sleep. "Well, two down with one more to go," he thought as he unfolded a knit afghan and placed it over his seven-year-old son. Pausing for a moment, he smoothed back Jason's hair to kiss him lightly on his forehead. Karala continued babbling so Clark turned to Jordan. "Your turn now Young Master as he extricated the baby from the bumper. Quickly and confidently, he changed the baby's wet diaper. As he turned to wipe him with a warm baby wipe, Jordan gave his rendition of a fountain. "Ha, you missed me this time Buddy. I'm getting wise to your tricks." He tickled Jordan's belly causing the baby to laugh heartily.

Clark removed his own shirt, aware of the material adhering to his back. He went to the bathroom adjacent to the nursery. Carefully he washed his chest and breasts aware that he was going to nourish the last of his species. He dried himself thoroughly and walked over to the cribs lifting both babies out. Carrying both babies, he settled into his favorite rocking chair being aware of the wounds on his back. He allowed them to latch onto his breasts as he hummed a lullaby.

Twenty-five minutes later, the babies fell asleep at his breasts, completely satiated. Clark knew that he had about four hours to get his work done. The grandfather clock in the foyer struck 5:15am. Jason continued to nap and the twins slept so Clark decided it was time to take care of himself.

He stripped of the clothes he wore after leaving the Fortress and climbed into the warm shower. However, the water stung his back so he got in and out quickly. "At least the bleeding stopped. He applied antibiotic ointment to long strips of gauze and used the gauze to apply it to his back. When he repeated this process several times, he decided that there was enough antiseptic on his skin & he would wear a light shirt.

When he dressed, he went to the kitchen & prepared the pancakes that Jason requested. He sliced some fruit and placed two pancakes on a plate for his son. Clark then climbed the stairs to return to the nursery. "Wake up Sport. Breakfast is ready," he whispered above Jason's head. His son smiled faintly and opened his eyes. "Shush," said Clark quietly. "They're sleeping. You stop at the bathroom and I'll meet you downstairs for breakfast."

"Okay Daddy Clark." Jason bounded up from the futon and rushed to the bathroom, a little faster than a normal seven-year-old should run. Clark smiled with pride to see his gifts emerging in Jason and he knew this would be the perfect time to discuss the gifts with the boy.

Five minutes later, Jason sat at the kitchen table with his father. "Jason, you're doing so well with your powers. I'm so very proud of you. But always remember, you must be careful that no one should see you using them. Frequently, people fear that which they don't understand."

"But why would they be afraid? You've never hurt anyone and I want to be like you. I would never hurt anyone and the twins are just babies! I don't understand."

"People fear anything they cannot control Jason," Clark replied softly. He looked at Jason with love. "As Superman, people feared what I would do if I became angry. They feared that I could not be stopped or controlled. That's why it's so important for you to keep strong control over your powers. No one knows that Superman has three children. They think I have only one, a baby. Let's keep everything secret to protect your Mommy, Daddy and baby Joanne."

"Okay Daddy Clark, but one thing," said Jason with a sly smirk.

"What's that Sport?" replied Clark.

"When can I start calling you Daddy Clark all the time instead of Mr. Clark?"

"We need to talk to your Mommy and Daddy Richard about that," said Clark collecting the breakfast dishes. "I'm sure that we will cross that bridge soon. Now why don't you brush your teeth and take a shower. We're going to church this morning then we'll go to the park."

"Okay Daddy Clark. I'll be ready in a few minutes."

Clark watched his older son run happily up the stairs & he sighed at the innocence of the young of all species. Their innocence always quickly evaporated in the glare of life's realities. It didn't matter if the species was human or kryptonian. He returned to finish washing the breakfast dishes. Once completed, he glanced at the kitchen clock to see that it was 7:34 am. It was time to get the twins ready if they were to get to Mass by 10:00 am. He climbed the stairs to see billows of steam issuing from beneath the bathroom door. Jason sang the theme from a Saturday morning cartoon show & Clark couldn't help but smile.

The twins slept soundly as Clark turned, rolled and dressed them. Jason emerged from the bathroom wrapped in an oversized maroon towel. His wet hair and feet dripped leaving foot prints as he sprinted down the hallway to his room.

Clark took the time to pump enough milk to feed the babies just in case they awoke during the service. It would not look too good for him to put Karala to breast if she started squalling. Through trial & error Clark discovered that pacifiers did not satisfy his children's need to suckle. The consistency of pacifiers did not meet their needs. He thought that at some time, he would ask the Lara AI what was done on Krypton. For the moment, one of his fingers served as the rejected pacifier.

It was only one day since he wiped the Fortress' memory. He again regretted taking such drastic measures but it was the only way to guarantee that Jason's hybrid nature would not condemn him to eternal isolation in the Phantom Zone. He realized ruefully that Kryptonians were just as xenophobic as humans.

He changed into a pair of casual slacks, a button down shirt & a pull over sweater. The milk let down reflex still plagued him at times so he took to carrying a change of clothing with him everywhere. Embarrassing moments would be avoided at all costs. He put the twins into their buntings & strapped them into their carriers. Then he slung their baby bags over his shoulder.

Clark had a sharp intact of air as he realized that the bags hit his still tender back wounds. Jason walked into the room to see his father clearly in distress. He frowned deeply and asked quietly, "are you okay Daddy Clark? Maybe we should just stay home if you don't feel good."

"It's okay Jason. Usually, I heal very quickly but I forgot things have changed quite a bit," as he bit his lower lip against the pain. "We can still go to Church then we'll go to the park. Deal?"

"Okay, but I want you to be okay! I can wait for another day if you want."

"No son, our time together is so short. Tomorrow, I'll take you back to your Mommy & Daddy Richard. I don't know when they'll let you visit again. Let's make this a special time. It's almost 9:15 am. Mass will be over by 11:00 am then we'll have lunch anywhere you would like.

"Taco Palace, Daddy Clark?" said Jason with a tentative smile.

"Taco Palace it is. Now let's go so we won't be late." Jason took the baby bags as Clark picked up both carriers and brought them to the car. It took a few minutes to get the carriers into the car seat frames but they finally accomplished their goal. Jason's booster seat was positioned between the baby seats.

"Sorry Sport, you can't sit in the front seat until you turn thirteen years old, for your own safety."

"I know Daddy Clark," said Jason rolling his eyes. "Mommy tells me the same thing all the time. She says it's safer for me to sit in the back."

"Well let's just agree that she's the authority on child care right now. Okay Sport?"

"Alright Daddy Clark."

Clark pulled the SUV out of his driveway and navigated down several winding roads to the main highway leading to Metropolis. He leaned forward most of the trip to avoid putting pressure on his still smarting back.

_**Thirty minutes later in the parking lot at Sacred Heart Church**_

Clark helped Jason out of the SUV, smoothed out his hair and whispered directions to him. "Jason, the people here don't know about my having any children. Not only that but you might see some of the people from the Planet. We'll need to return to your calling me Mr. Clark again while we're in public. I'll introduce you as a friend's son, visiting for the weekend. I'll somehow get around the questions about the twins." He knew that he would need to address this question sooner or later.

"Okay Mr. Clark," said Jason with a knowing smile. They had ten minutes to settle into their seats.

They entered the rear of the church and proceeded toward the Cry Room. Fr. Daniel Leone was attired in his liturgical robes and greeted the congregants. He paused and waved as Clark entered the Cry Room carrying the twins in their carriers. Fortunately they still slept. Clark could only smile in response. Jason located two seats in the Cry Room's front row while Fr. Daniel mouthed that he would see them after the service.

The service proceeded free from any baby interruptions since the Cry Room was sound proof. Jordan awoke once so Clark gave him a bottle. To assure that Karala remained quiet, he gave her a bottle which she greedily accepted without opening her eyes. At the conclusion of the service, Clark heard a familiar voice behind him. It was Douglas Harper of the Metropolis Star.

"Clark Kent, you rascal. What are you doing here in the Cry Room? I knew you were returning to the Planet tomorrow but I never expected to see you here. Who are the kids?"

"Hi Doug. Ho… How are you? Fancy meeting you here of all places."

"Even we heathens at the Star have a need for forgiveness and redemption sometimes. But there must be a juicy story behind the mysterious Clark Kent who now appears with three children. I thought you were carrying a torch for Lois Lane."

"If you'd like to know, Lois Lane is now Lois Lane-White and this is her son, Jason White. I'm babysitting this weekend."

"That doesn't explain the babies Clarkie boy," as he tickled Jordan's chin. Jordan promptly drooled on him.

Clark took a deep breath preparing to respond when they were interrupted by another voice.

"Why good morning Mr. Harper. I had hoped to find you. Would you please help the senior ushers collect the leftover bulletins? Mr. Carpenter's arthritis is really keeping him from getting around very well today.

"Of course Fr. Leone, I'd be happy to help out," said Douglas. He turned to pick up two bulletins from the floor and he murmured to Clark sarcastically. "Saved by the priest Clark but I'll see you around and soon." Clark became aware that he was holding his breath and finally relaxed with his head bowed and eyes closed.

"Clark" said Fr. Daniel gently placing his hand on Clark's shoulder. "I applaud your desire to attend services but I never ever expected to see you and the children today. Especially after yesterday's events.

Clark looked at him with tired eyes. "Even more reason for me to reappear with the children Daniel. We need to blend in with other people. No one would think twice about a father bringing his children to church or sitting in the park. It's hiding in plain sight. Superman has to hide but Clark must be as ordinary as possible. I'm returning to work tomorrow so I needed to assure myself that I could manage the children on my own. Ben and my mother returned to Smallville early this morning."

Fr. Leone nodded knowingly then directed the small group through the church, into the sacristy and finally into the rectory. He gave Jason a glass of milk while he prepared tea for Clark and himself. "How are you feeling Clark? After last night, I thought you would take another week before even thinking about the Planet."

"No Daniel. I must go back and it must be now. If not now, then when? I'm becoming depressed and withdrawn by just remaining at home. It's all the symptoms of postpartum depression. I can't allow that to happen."

Daniel looked at Clark with understanding eyes. "Let me know how I can help you?"

"Just pray for and with me, Daniel."

"All the time son."

They conversed for another half hour about fear, pain, loss and change. Clark then said his farewells and left Sacred Heart to take Jason and the children for lunch.

_**Twenty-five minutes later at Taco Palace**_

Clark congratulated himself for getting through Mass without the children screaming and crying. He changed the babies on the floor of the SUV & placed the soiled diapers into plastic bags so that he could discard them at the next waste receptacle. He placed the carriers into the stroller frame and entered the restaurant.

Jason ran up to the counter and looked to father with pleading eyes. "Mr. Clark, now since I'm not allergic anymore, can I have anything I want."

Clark looked at his son with veiled eyes. "It depends on what you're asking for Sport. Why don't you put in your order?"

Jason walked to the order window and smiled at the attendant. "I would like two volcano tacos and a mango strawberry freeze, please."

The attendant looked at Clark. Clark quickly thought about Jason's past allergies to strawberries, milk, eggs and wheat. Goodness knew about the peppers in the cheese or mangos. He looked at Jason. "Sport you know that your food will be very spicy. Are you sure?"

"Yes sir," smiled Jason confidently. "I'm sure."

"Okay, I'll have two chicken burritos and a bottle of water." Clark paid the bill while Jason collected napkins, straws and ten packets of fire hot taco sauce. "Wow Sport. Can you really handle that hot sauce on your food?" said Clark incredulously while ruffling Jason's hair.

"Oh yes Mr. Clark but Mommy and Daddy won't let me have any. Everything tastes better when it's spicy."

"How did you find out that you like spicy food?" Clark asked curiously.

"When Grandma Martha cooked, she used hot sauce. She said she always put hot sauce in your food when you were young because she said you drank a bottle of hot sauce when you were little.

Clark laughed because that incident happened when he was only on Earth a few days. Mom and Dad always laughed about how their little tike consumed an entire bottle of red hot pepper sauce without batting an eyelash. "Don't worry Sport. I'll tell her to let you have as much hot sauce on your food as you like."

"Thanks Mr. Clark," responded Jason through a mouth full of tacos. They ate their food in quiet conversation with the twins awakening for a few minutes to babble. After lunch they boarded the SUV to go to Centennial Park.

_**Twenty minutes later at Centennial Park**_

The day was cool and crisp. Clark pulled his collar up realizing that he felt cold. His back began to throb but he had made a promise to Jason that he planned to keep. Centennial Park was a hub of activity on Sunday afternoons especially as fall painted the trees red, orange and yellow. Clark's back ached as he lifted the carriers in and out of the SUV for at least the fourth time that day.

Jason ran to the swings as Clark parked himself on a nearby bench. He lifted Karala out of her carrier and gave her the second bottle for the day. She consumed it hungrily and he burped her but did not put her back into her carrier before Jordan awoke. He became fussy then started crying. As the baby cried, Clark became aware that he was leaking breast milk. "O boy! Let down reflex," he thought. "I can't do anything about it now." He simply buttoned his jacket & shivered as he sat in wet clothing. A second bottle was produced and he fed Jordan.

After he settled Jordan back into his carrier, he heard screams coming from across the park. A woman stood screaming that a man had snatched her purse. Clark looked at his children but could see that the perpetrator would pass within thirty feet of his location. He stood up and ran to intercept the perpetrator as park police were in hot pursuit. Clark tackled the perpetrator to the ground while looking back at the stroller and Jason.

"Get out of my way you f***ing a**hole." Get off me." Clark wanted to scream in pain but he knew that he just needed to restrain the perpetrator until the pursuing police arrived. He knew he needed to get back to his children.

The police arrived within seconds and Clark turned the perp over to them. "That was a stupid thing to do mister," said the officer putting handcuffs on the purse snatcher. "You could have gotten yourself hurt or killed. After all, you're not Superman."

Clark thought to himself, "how right you are." He turned back to see Jason standing next to the stroller. "I'll try to keep that in mind officer." He returned the purse to the victim. She was a 70ish year old woman just enjoying the park like the rest of the city's residents.

"Thank you, sir. How can I ever repay you?" She looked at him as if she recognized him.

"You don't need to do that ma'am. I just saw where I could be of assistance. Now I need to get back to my family," as he hurried back to his park bench. His back hurt as did his chest, arms and knees.

"Sir, now I remember where I've seen you. You're Clark Kent, the Daily Planet reporter who writes stories with Lois Lane. I've seen your picture with her on the sides of the busses.

Clark turned slowly. "Yes, ma'am I am Clark Kent."

"Then could you please write a story about how dangerous the park is becoming? It's only 3:30 pm and it's still bright outside. Honest people can't even enjoy this area anymore without being mugged."

They arrived at his bench and he immediately checked his children. All was well with them. He sat down exhausted, hoping that this lady would just go away.

"Are these your children, Mr. Kent? They're beautiful and they have your eyes. Where's their mother?"

Clark caught his breath. What should he say? Jason looked at him intently wondering what he would say. "Sh... she's no longer with us," he said with downcast eyes.

"Oh my Mr. Kent, I'm so very sorry to intrude on you in your grief. Please accept my condolences and apologies. My name is Emily Flowers. My family owns Flowers Enterprises of Metropolis." She opened her purse and gave him her business card. "If you should ever need anything, anything at all, don't hesitate to call me, please."

Just then, a police officer approached the bench. "Ma'am, if you plan to press charges against the purse snatcher, would you please accompany me to the precinct?

"Don't forget Mr. Kent. Call me if you need anything," said Mrs. Flowers as she left the park bench accompanied by the officer.

"Thank you Mrs. Flowers, I won't forget" as he pocketed her card. "Come, Jason, let's go home. He rose stiffly from the bench and took Jason's hand while pushing the stroller. He thought to himself, what a day this has been. His natural instincts have always been to help anyone in need but the officer was right. He's not Superman, at least not at the moment so he had better take care of himself. Too many people depended on him right now without his powers, namely his three children. He couldn't be cavalier with his health and well being, not any more. Tomorrow, when he returned to the Planet, would tell how successful he is as an ordinary human.

_**To be continued. Please review…**_


	2. Chapter 2

Hi everyone. Sorry about the delay in this chapter. I've had a recent death in the family so the fiction went on a brief hiatus. This is the next installment in the 'What Sacrifices' AU. It draws heavily from the classic _**Superman: The Movie**_ and the most recent _**Superman Returns**_ characters. I'm creating Clark's twins, Jordan and Karala. Please enjoy this installment and I'll turn out Chapter 3 with some alacrity.

Synopsis:

Clark has decided to venture out in public with his children. His logic is to hide in plain sight. He's just going to behave like any other single parent and resume a 'normal' life. This chapter delves into his personal fears and the reactions of his coworkers to his returning to the Planet as a father.

Disclaimer: I do not receive any remuneration from DC Comics, Warner Brothers or any of the Superman copyrights. I just like to write and stretch my imagination.

Chapter 2

Clark pushed the stroller as Jason walked silently by his side. Centennial Park was beautiful in the afternoon light. The sun shone brilliantly against his skin but Clark felt barely warmed. His back throbbed mercilessly since his impulsive engagement of the purse snatcher. He didn't know how he could possibly live up to the expectations of fatherhood. Maybe he should have allowed the Fortress to raise the children as pure Kryptonians. He remembered his youth in Smallville with his parents. Jordan and Karala deserved that kind of carefree life. Two parents made the difference. Smiling at the memories, he thought about how his mother and father supported each other as each of his powers emerged. Clark realized that he would meet his children's physical, psychological and emotional needs alone. No human partner could ever understand his needs or the needs of his children. Furthermore, he would never endanger another human with his secret. Lois, his chosen, could not live with the knowledge. Now, she was committed to another. He wished only happiness for them then sighing at his loss decided not to feel sorry for himself.

As they reached their vehicle, Jason turned to him. "Daddy Clark why are you upset? Is something wrong?" Jason shifted his weight from one foot to the other mimicking Clark's own nervous manifestation.

Clark turned to place the twins into the back seat. He consciously relaxed the muscles in his face as he turned back to his elder son. He bade the child to sit in the front seat. "I guess I really can't hide my feelings from you any more, can I Champ? I'm sorry son; I'll try harder to mask my feelings to protect you and the twins."

"You don't need to Daddy! How can I help you? I'm a big boy now. I can be a big help to you especially with my brother and sister."

"I know you can and will be a big help to me Jason. Right now, I want you to protect our secret so that we can live a normal life. There are evil people out there son who would do anything to capture us. Our hearts and minds are human but we must always remember that we are different. Your gifts are only beginning to emerge so there is so much for you to learn before you act openly. Your brother and sister are very vulnerable and dependent on me. I'm not in the best of shape after the Jor-El AI finished with me during the presentation ceremony (1). But I'll do my best to guide you" as he jostled his son's hair. "Let's go home and have some dinner. Tomorrow, you return to your Mommy and Daddy Richard. Then I'll just become Mr. Clark again returning to work at the Daily Planet only this time with a family."

Forty-five minutes later, Clark and his family arrived at their home on the outskirts of Metropolis. Jason demonstrated his strength by carrying his younger brother, carefully, in the baby carrier up the front steps and into the living room. Clark followed him close by in case he had a mishap with the carrier. Jordan as a full blooded Kryptonian would eventually absorb sufficient yellow sun energy to develop his protective aura but not just yet. Clark worried constantly that his children could be badly injured in an accident.

"See, Daddy Clark, I told you that I could be a help to you with the babies." His grin extended from ear to ear. "I can take him out of the carrier too," as he set the carrier on the floor. He then proceeded to loosen the baby's restraining straps. Clark quickly put Karala's carrier on the floor. He appreciated Jason's desire to help him but he wouldn't take chances with the baby's safety.

"Thanks Champ, you certainly are a big boy and a big help to me. Now if you can run upstairs and take out some clean diapers for me that would be a big help too. Could you also choose some clean sleepers for them?"

"Of course I can. That what big brothers do" exclaimed Jason as he bounded up the stairs.

"Take your time Jason" responded Clark as he carefully removed both babies from their carriers. He gingerly climbed the stairs to arrive in the nursery as Jason placed the second sleeper on the changing table.

"Daddy Clark, I can hold Jordan while you take care of Karala? I'll sit on the futon and if I get tired, I'll put him down. Please Daddy?" Jordan looked up at his older brother and yawned widely.

Clark looked at him with a little smile on his face. "You really love your little brother, don't you?"

"Sure! We're going to a lot of fun together when he grows up and begins to get his powers. I can teach him how to listen out for yours and Karala's heart beats the same way that you taught me to listen for Mommy's, Daddy Richard's and Joanne's" he responded with a measure of pride in his voice.

"How about Karala?" asked Clark as he placed her on the changing table and tickled her feet. She squealed with laughter at his ministrations.

"Oh sure I'll teach her too but she's a girl. You know how girls are. They want to play with dolls and have tea parties. Besides I already have a baby sister, Joanne. The girls would out number me if I didn't have Jordan."

"I guess you have a point there Champ," as he finished changing his little girl. "But don't forget she'll have powers too so she'll need you to teach her."

Jason thought about that fact. "You're right Daddy Clark. Both of them will have powers. I guess I'll have my work cut out for me," he said with a sigh. "Big brothers have a huge responsibility, don't they? Not only that but we'll have to protect Joanne."

Clark stopped for a moment to give Jason's statement a thought. "You're right Jason but always remember that you must never let anyone know about your gifts. Remember what I told you in the park?" He took Jordan from the older child and placed him on the changing table. Five minutes later Jordan was neat and clean, dressed in his sleeper.

"Why don't you go wash up for dinner Jason? We're going to have chicken and pasta with vegetables and a salad. Do you want to prepare the vegetables for the salad?"

"Okay Daddy. I'll meet you in a few minutes."

Clark watched Jason skip to the bathroom. He thought to himself that life presents so many twists and turns. Just over one year ago, he presumed himself to be the last of his species. Now there were three full blooded Kryptonians and one miraculous human-Kryptonian hybrid.

He could have never foreseen his good fortune. Every day his health improved despite a few areas on his back that still smarted from the beating at the Fortress a day earlier. He recollected his thoughts as Jason clattered down the stairs prepared to make the salad.

They sat in the kitchen and discussed Jason's plans at school while preparing dinner. Their conversations continued in this vein for the rest of the evening. Jason finished some left over homework with Clark's assistance then retired to get ready for bed. Fifteen minutes later, Clark climbed the stairs again to peek in on the twins. They slept peacefully on their sides in their respective cribs. Closing the door quietly behind him, he then checked on Jason. His older son slept on top of his covers with a copy of a Harry Potter novel next to him. Looking carefully, he noticed that Jason floated about two inches above his mattress. "It's starting earlier for him than it did for me," he thought. "Oh well, I might as well take advantage of it." He pulled the sheets and blankets back carefully under the sleeping child to the foot of the bed. Then, he placed his hands on the sleeping child's face. Jason stirred slightly at his father's touch. Clark closed his eyes and projected an image of a peaceful meadow in Smallville, KS where he used to nap under a huge oak tree. Jason smiled as they shared the peaceful scene together and Jason landed lightly on his bed. Pulling the bed clothes up around the child's shoulders, Clark left his sleeping household to do something he regretted doing for a long time.

He sat alone in his study and removed a rectangular box from the top book shelf. The box was heavier than it appeared. Setting it before him on the desk, it glistened and sparkled in the dim light of his office. This was now his only connection to the Fortress AI since he lost his powers. Kryptonian runes appeared then faded as he passed his hands over its surface. He knew that the Fortress would always respond to him because his DNA was the DNA of the House of El, the last great house of Krypton. His children as the scions of the House of El would one day wield the power and technology within the Fortress. However, today he had but one question.

He placed his hand on the box and felt its power course up his arm and into his body. As he lifted his hand, a tiny light floated above the rectangle. It grew in size and intensity until Clark shaded his eyes against its brightness. Suddenly, a form appeared within the light along with a soft sweet background chime. The light gradually dimmed and in its place floated a miniature woman attired in white and gold, a thin golden tiara adorned her brow.

"Kal-El my son, I am pleased to see you well after your ordeal. How are my grandchildren?"

"They are well Mother and asleep but I have a question to ask of you."

"Then, proceed with your question my son."

"Why, mother?"

"Specify."

"Why was I sent to Earth? You knew the barriers I would encounter."

"My son, I asked your father the same question before your ship left Krypton. He replied dispassionately as any head of a great House would reply. His answer was measured, logical and sterile. The yellow sun of Earth would sustain you, granting you immeasurable strength and power. But I wanted more for you my son. I didn't want you to grow up to become another logic driven man like the men of Krypton. The people of Earth were similar to the Kryptonians of our ancient history. They were a passionate people rich in emotion but still using logic as necessary. You as the last and best of Krypton needed to be balanced as were the Kryptonians of old. You would be balanced as our people were not, to our great loss. So before your ship lifted away from our planet, I placed a homing signal under your blanket. I wanted it to attract two very special people to your landing site. Your father set the ship's computer to land in the center of the American landmass. I set my homing device to attract a man and a woman who would shower you with love. The love that Krypton no longer remembered, I wanted you to enjoy. That is why your foster parents drove along that very road as your ship handed. I chose them for you and for your offspring to temper the logical Kryptonian heart with love."

"I thank you Mother. Your gift of love will pass to your grandchildren and great-grandchildren as long as Kryptonian DNA exists, I promise."

"Thank you my son. Raise the last great house of Krypton to be just, logical but tempered with human love." Her image and voice gradually faded from view. Clark wept bitterly at the sacrifice of his birth mother and his fear that he would not measure up to her expectations. He slept fitfully that night knowing that he must return to the Daily Planet the following day with the weight of his species literally on his shoulders.

_**Monday morning, 6:00 am**_

Clark called up the stairs from the kitchen. "Jason, your breakfast is getting cold. Come on Champ." Two bowls of old-fashioned oatmeal with milk and sliced fresh fruit sat at their places.

"I'll be right down Daddy," he responded as he finished lacing up his shoes. Jason had gotten up on Clark's first call, brushed his teeth, showered and dressed in an outfit that he and Clark decided on the previous night. He bounded down the stairs from his room excited to begin a new week. They consumed their breakfasts quickly knowing that they might encounter heavy traffic. Metropolis, like any other large city, had its share of Monday morning gridlock.

"I'll drop you off at school son. Then I'll go onto work. Don't forget I become Mr. Clark to you again," he smiled as he smoothed down his son's stubborn front curl, a trait received from him. The twins babbled joyfully in their carriers waving pink and blue rattles. Their stomachs were full having been nursed only twenty minutes earlier.

Clark had also pumped enough milk to feed the twins for a normal eight hour work day. He ate as much as he could to keep up his milk supply. The twins seemed to be satisfied but he was always anxious that he would lose that ability. If he did, the twins would die. The Fortress AI warned him not to feed them Earth food until they were at least one year of age. They only passed ten weeks of age, 2.5 moths. They needed his milk for at least 9.5 more months. How would he explain this to Perry, who was now privy to his secret? Reporters needed to drop everything to chase down a story, any time or any place.

So Clark was quiet and distracted as he drove Jason to school. His reactions were almost mechanical as he navigated through the streets. "We're here Daddy Clark," exclaimed Jason gleefully as they approached his school.

"Hold on son, let me come to a complete stop before you get up." Jason rolled his eyes but complied with his father's request. When the car stopped, he quickly jumped out of his seat.

"Have a good day Mr. Clark," said Jason shyly. "I'll see you later when Mommy picks me up from school. Bye Jordan, bye Karala, see you later." He shook the hands of both babies.

Clark smiled then gathered Jason into his arms and kissed him lightly on his forehead. "Have a good day Champ. See you later." He watched Jason greet his school friends and wave back to him as he pulled away from the curb. Twenty minutes later, he parked in the Planet's parking garage and proceeded to place two carriers into a twin stroller along with two diaper bags, an insulated bag containing the expressed milk and ice packs plus an extra back pack containing everything he couldn't fit into the diaper bags.

"I guess I'm ready. Let's go guys." The babies responded by cooing at him. Clark's heart beat out of his chest in fear that someone would see through him and his disguise. He entered the empty elevator and adjusted his glasses. Automatically he pushed the button to the thirty-first floor and leaned against the elevator wall. By now, Jordan slept but Karala amused herself by sucking her hand.

It was now 7:51 am and Clark knew that his Planet colleagues would arrive for the first work day of the week within minutes. The elevator pinged indicating that it had reached its destination. Clark exited into the bull pen to cheers and a multitude of voices greeting him.

"Hey Clark, welcome home you sly devil. Never knew you had it in you," was the general response from his male coworkers. All he could do was grin shyly.

"They're beautiful Clark. Who would have known?" Before he realized it, the twins were out of their carriers being passed around to all the women while being jostled by the crowd. They quickly recognized that they were not being touched by their father and became irritable. Karala was the first to let loose a piercing wail. Jordan soon followed with a cry of his own.

The bull pen was in turmoil with Clark attempting to soothe his children when Perry, Lois and Richard appeared on the scene. "What the hell is going on out here," yelled Perry above the din. The crowd separated as he approached. All Clark could do was hum comforting sounds to the babies, one in each arm. They settled down almost immediately in response to his touch.

"I'm, I'm s...s...sorry Mr. White. I…I…knew there was a lot of curiosity about …"

"It's okay Kent. Welcome back," he gruffly interrupted Clark's rambling. "Why don't you get your children to the day care center. I have assignments for you and the rest of this crew." He tickled Karala under her chin while she babbled and giggled.

"Come on Clark. We'll show you the way," murmured Lois as she took Jordan and Richard carried Karala. All Clark could do was maneuver the stroller behind them.

"Congratulations Kent," sneered Bradley Huntley from the Sports Department. "I guess you have a set of balls after all." He slapped Clark across the back as he laughed at his own lame joke. Clark saw stars as that slap reopened healing wounds on his back. He lost his footing collapsing momentarily across Jimmy's desk.

"You're just a barrel of laughs Brad," gasped Clark through clenched teeth as he recomposed himself against the pain. Jimmy reacted as he watched Clark grimace in pain. "I'm okay Jimbo. Brad is just being Brad."

Lois and Richard, carrying Clark's children turned to see Bradley slap Clark across the back. Lois hurried back to Jimmy's desk with Richard close behind. She glared at the sports reporter; Lois' temper was legendary at the Planet. "Bradley, you're so stupid that if you used that brain, between your legs, you'd be dangerous. Are you okay Clark?"

"I'm fine, just a little winded. Brad caught me off guard," he replied composing himself.

"Brad, why don't you pick on someone your own size," said Jimmy, the 150 lbs, 5'5" would be photographer. He was nose to nose with the 250 lbs, 6'1" former Metropolitan Lions linebacker. By then, Richard was by Clark's side.

"Please, Jimmy," implored Clark. "He's not worth the trouble. I'm okay. Really I am." Clark hurried toward the elevators pushing the stroller with Lois, Richard and Jimmy close behind.

"CK, I can take that for you," swooping in to take the stroller and the backpack. The elevator doors opened as they approached revealing none other than Bruce Wayne.

"What's going on in here," he said loud enough for the entire bullpen to hear him. Brad retreated quickly. Clark, Lois, Richard and Jimmy were speechless. Clark was the first to respond.

"I'm s… sorry Mr. Wayne. I brought my children to the bullpen because I knew everyone would be curious about them. We were just on our way to the day care center," replied Clark hurriedly. "W…We'll be back in time for the morning meeting."

"I should hope so Kent because we need to talk about an incident in Centennial Park yesterday. I received a telephone call from a person from Flowers Enterprises this morning. We need to talk."

Clark closed his eyes and sighed. He knew he was in for a lecture. "Yes sir. We'll be back in a few minutes. Thank you sir."

Entering the elevator, no one spoke until Jimmy asked. "CK, why don't you stand up to Brad? He's got this thing against you and he's always making your life miserable. It's going to be worse now since you have the babies." Lois and Richard just looked at each other, aware of Clark's secret.

"Jim, let's discuss this later. I think Clark just wants to get these guys settled so that we make it back to the meeting on time," said Richard helping to cover for Clark. The elevator dinged indicating that they had reached their destination.

"Come on fellas. We'll need to hurry," said Lois. "Clark, did you complete all of the registration forms?" as she approached the day care's entrance.

"They're in the backpack," he replied. He held the door as Jimmy pushed the stroller into a corner.

"Mr. Kent, you've finally arrived with your children. Welcome to the Daily Planet/Montessori School." A plump middle aged woman reached out to shake his hand. "My name is Esther Rosemont and I'm the teacher for the infant room. Let me show you the room. Your children will share this room with Mr. and Mrs. White's little girl, Joanne and a slightly older infant, a nine month boy named Devon. He is Shalaya Miller's son.

Clark quickly perused the room noting that it was neat, clean and brightly lit with natural sunlight. The walls were decorated with happy forest animals wearing quaint costumes and dancing with butterflies and fairies. He placed the babies into adjacent cribs and quickly removed their outdoor clothing. "They really enjoy being in bright sunshine. Please keep them in the sun as much as possible."

"Okay Mr. Kent as you wish. By the way, does anyone else have permission to pick up the children if you are not available?" She asked as she folded the clothing that Clark removed from his children.

Clark was just about answer negatively when Lois quickly responded, "Clark, did you forget to tell her that Richard and I will be back up for you if you're out on a story? Richard, he must have forgotten our discussion on Saturday night. Here, Mrs. Rosemont, we have the completed paperwork. Clark just needs to review and sign it."

Mrs. Rosemont reviewed the paperwork. "Everything seems to be in order Mr. Kent. I just need your signature." Clark looked confused but signed the necessary papers. "I'll put their bottles into the refrigerator. When were they last fed?"

"They took about 5 ounces each three hours ago; I'm sure they'll be hungry in about an hour. I'll be back to feed them at lunch time. Please make sure they only receive the bottles I've given to you; it's a special formulation for them."

Mrs. Rosemont examined the golden colored milk curiously. "Okay Mr. Kent. Remember, if you're busy just give me a call." Clark bent over each crib and kissed each baby.

"You guys be good. I'll be back to feed you at lunch time." The babies cooed at him.

"They respond very well to you Mr. Kent. I don't think I've seen any infant respond so positively to a male care provider.

"That's because I provide all their care but we need to leave now so we're on time for our staff meeting. Thank you Mrs. Rosemont, I'll see you at lunch time."

The three adults retreated to the elevator to join the morning meeting. Clark thought to himself, so far so good. He extended his telepathic powers out to all three of his children. Jason happily engaged in a mathematics course at school and the twins babbled to the brightly colored mobiles suspended above their cribs. If every day went this well, life would be very good on Earth for the last great house of Krypton. Little did he know what was in store for him and his family.

_**To be continued … Please review**_

(1). This interaction is occurring about 36 hours after the Presentation Ceremony described in the final chapter of "What Sacrifices for the Survival of the Species."


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who reviewed this fiction up to this point. I truly appreciate all the positive feedback that I have received and I intend to use all suggestions in some way. I created some terms and added explanatory footnotes.

Acknowledgments:

To _**JamesTKent**_, thank you for helping me with spelling. There is a huge difference between **scions **(a lineal descendant such as a son or daughter) and **scones** (bakery products).

To _**Saavikam69**_, I rewrote this chapter so that Brad gets his comeuppance. Also, in a future chapter, Lois will teach Clark where is the best area to change a baby in an SUV.

To _**LexLives**_, I promise to keep this story suspenseful; I will not disappoint you. At some point in the story, I will use all of your suggestions.

To _**Seirei Nightlord5**_, Clark will get an earful from Bruce in this chapter. He's going to get chewed out.

To_** tweets**_, Richard and Lois will continue to help Clark. Jason will also continue to be a big help to his father and siblings.

To _**JessieDog**_, as one nurse to another, Clark is going to rely on a certain nurse midwife/nurse practitioner, whose role will be pivotal to the fiction. And thank you for your kind condolences upon the passing of my sister.

To _**Daisygirl and phoenix**_, please continue enjoying this fiction. I promise to keep it exciting as our hero faces the challenges of fitting in with humanity, raising a family and doubling as a superhero.

Disclaimers:

I don't receive any payment for this fiction and I don't want to infringe on any copyrights. I just like to write fiction and this is a milieu that I really enjoy. Any similarity to persons living or dead is purely coincidental. Now on with the story.

Chapter 3

Clark, Lois, Richard and Jimmy travelled silently in the elevator back to the Daily Planet's bullpen. Their thoughts focused on one topic, the twins. Jimmy tried to figure out some way to toughen Clark so that he would be able to teach his children how to defend themselves against bullies like Brad. Lois wondered if the twins would demonstrate any signs that they were anything other than human. Richard worried that Lois would be so attached to Clark's twins that she would put them ahead of him and Joanne. Clark just smiled inwardly and extended his telepathic powers out to his children. Jason enjoyed his gym class but needed a reminder to refrain from using his special gifts, accidently. Jason smiled and reassured his father mentally that he would be careful. Clark turned mentally to the twins and hummed a lullaby to them. They both responded positively.

It was Lois who broke the silence. "Come on guys, we're already late. Move it Kent. You've got to get back into the routine."

Clark just responded by pushing his glasses up on his nose. "R…Right, I'm right behind you." He was the last to exit the elevator. His back throbbed and the wounds oozed through his dress shirt. He decided to keep his jacket on because it was cool enough in the office to justify that rationale.

"Lois, Richard, Kent and Olsen, we're glad you deigned to attend the meeting this morning," growled Perry sarcastically. "Everyone else has their assignments except you four. Richard, there's something going on at the U.N. concerning Superman. Take Olsen and anyone else you need from your department, I want a detailed report on what's going on by the end of the day. Lois, check out MPD. My contact there said something about some bodies located in an area used by those renegade Kryptonians, Zod and his minions. Now get out of here." Lois, Richard and Jimmy glanced at each other and filed silently out the conference room as Clark sadly watched them. He made an effort to quietly follow them out the door. "Not you, Kent. We need to talk. Close the door."

Clark prepared himself to apologize for causing the ruckus in the bullpen. "I'm sorry Perry. I…I really didn't think I would disrupt the bullpen…"

"What are you apologizing for? I wanted to see the little tykes myself." said Perry, wrinkling his forehead. "I understand that Brad slapped you across your back and you collapsed across Jimmy's desk. I wanted to find out if you were alright. Mr. Wayne wants me to terminate Brad immediately for assaulting you."

"Oh, no," groaned Clark. "Brad is really a good sports writer. He was just congratulating me for having a family. You know how Brad is where I'm concerned."

"I know that Brad is a bully who I should have terminated a long time ago. Mr. Wayne will finally do what I should have done."

"Please Perry, not on my account. I'm okay. Really, just wait. I'm sure that he will give you a better reason for termination than a slap on the back."

"You know Clark; you don't look that good to me. You're very pale. How is that back doing?" Perry stood up and Clark dropped his head mumbling that he was fine.

"Take off the jacket son." Clark reluctantly complied revealing a dress shirt heavily stained with fresh blood.

"Clark, you can't work like this. You need care and now."

"Please Perry, it's no big deal. I heal quickly and it's better than what it was yesterday." He put his jacket back on. "I just need to resume as normal a life as I can."

"No normal human being can walk around like this. Work through the day if you want to but you're going back out on sick leave until you're totally healed. I'm assigning you to obituaries. That will keep you indoors here where I can keep an eye on you. By the way, Mr. Wayne wants to see you in his office right now. I have not shared any sensitive information about your life or condition but he wants my input on your ability to work."

"What did you plan to tell him?" asked Clark looking at his feet.

"Look at me Clark! You're not Superman, at least not at the moment. I commend your dedication to your job but you still need time to heal. Go home; care for the kids. I'll never be this generous again."

"Okay Perry. I'll see you later." He stuffed his hands into his pockets and shuffled to the elevator bank. He thought miserably that he was sending out bad vibes to the children so he better get his act together. Entering the elevator, he closed his eyes and took a few cleansing breathes, calming his racing heart. By time he reached the Administration floor, he felt sufficiently calm enough to face Bruce.

He knocked at a non-pretentious looking door and entered into a spacious secretarial office. Sandra Curry, Bruce's secretary at the Planet smiled at him as he crossed the carpeted floor. "Good morning Mr. Kent, Mr. Wayne has been waiting for you. Just wait here please."

Clark nodded affirmatively. Bruce came directly to the door. "Good morning Mr. Kent. I've been looking forward to seeing you. Sandra, please hold all calls and meetings. Please come in Mr. Kent."

"Yes sir Mr. Wayne."

Clark eased past Bruce as Bruce closed the door behind him.

"Sit down please Clark,' said Bruce pointing toward one of two easy chairs facing his desk. Bruce took a small device from an inner jacket pocket. He motioned to Clark to remain silent until the device was activated. Once the device glowed steadily he settled into the other chair and began the conversation.

"Welcome back Boy Scout. How are you doing?"

"You mean you haven't heard from Perry yet?" Clark glowered.

"I didn't ask Perry; I asked you! Shall we start again?" replied Bruce flatly.

"I'm sorry Bruce; the day isn't going as well as I thought it would. I guess I should follow Perry's suggestion and take a few more weeks.

"What do you want to do?" said Bruce intently.

"I want my old life back but that's not about to happen. Don't get me wrong, my children are wonderful but I'm having trouble with this fatherhood/motherhood thing."

"Oh, you'll get the hang of it soon enough but I'm concerned about your physical health. How's your back?"

"Perry just looked at it and he says that it's not too good. I haven't been able to tell. Everything still hurts."

"Let me take a look." Clark complied by removing his jacket and his dress shirt. "Clark, I'm no doctor but this is bad, really bad. Brad definitely didn't do this. You must have some kind of death wish coming back to work in this condition." Clark hung his head unable to look Bruce in the eye as he put his clothes back on. "That brings me to my next point. I heard from Emily Flowers, you know from Flowers Enterprises? She had nothing but praise for the young widower who tackled a thief who pinched her purse yesterday. Man, are you out of your mind?" Clark remained silent and closed his eyes waiting for the explosion. "Alright, you're an adult and you can decide how to spend your time but I am chief _**Raodetri **_(1) to your children. Therefore, the League and I agree on this next critical move in our roles as raodetrid and raomutrod. I invoke the _**Kyren **_(2) to assure the continuance of the House of El, the last of Krypton's great houses."

Clark's eyes opened wide and he was completely speechless. He smiled while responding to Bruce's invocation of the ancient Kryptonian law. "You can't do that Bruce. I'm the titular Chancellor of Krypton and can negate the Kyren at the behest of the head of the great House."

"I knew that would be your response so I researched Kryptonian history. The head of the Kryptonian archive, your mother, told me about how one of your ancient ancestors, Ban-El was removed by his younger brother Wir-El when Ban-El was injured during a hunting accident in the rainbow forest. Ban-El was Chancellor at that time."

"Looks like you've done your homework Darth. I knew I shouldn't have given you an access terminal to the Lara AI," Clark sighed.

"I'm glad that you did," replied Bruce. "You look like sh**. Any regular human looking that bad would be in a hospital. I'm just sending you home on paid personal leave for as much time as you need to completely recover."

"I guess I should thank you. I'll go home with the children in a few minutes." Clark eased up out of his chair and advanced toward the door.

"By the way Boy Scout, this is an intervention orchestrated by the entire Raohim3. We're taking turns sitting with you and the children. You're to stop fighting off the healing sleep process that you know your body needs to heal. The League is setting up a temporary med bay in the basement at your house where you can get the best possible medical treatment outside of Star Labs. While you're sleeping, a certain nurse-midwife/nurse practitioner will make sure that you remain hydrated and receive hyperalimentation. Your milk will be pumped to feed the babies. We worked as hard as we could to anticipate everything that you would need to heal while keeping the children safe. Beside, all of the patrol schedules have been adjusted so that your needs are met. I'm taking the first shift by driving you and the children home. By the way, you need to make sure that Alfred or I can pick up the children if you're out on a story."

Clark again was speechless. So many people, humans, were willing to make sacrifices for the survival of his species. "Thanks Bruce, I don't know what to say. I chose the _**Raohim** _(3) well. So Ceci (4) is joining this undertaking? She's got this thing about indwelling urinary catheters, you know?" he said with a shiver.

Bruce smirked, "you can take that point up with her but she's a formidable woman. Don't forget she's only looking after your best interest so I'm not getting into the middle of that discussion. I'll let Perry know that you're going straight home after you pick up the babies from day care. So, I'll meet you in the parking lot. After all, I've got to keep up my tough boss image; can't be seen fraternizing with the workers."

Clark retreated through the secretary's office returning to the bullpen. Stopping at Perry's office, he explained that Bruce extended his sick leave for an unlimited period so he would return home to further recuperate. "Okay Clark, good luck to you. Do you need anything from me before you leave?

Clark sighed, "No, it seems there is a conspiracy to make sure that I follow up on my health. The group is already waiting at my house. I'll just go home now. Will you make some excuse for my disappearance? I really don't want to concoct another alibi for them." He cocked his head toward the bullpen.

"Don't worry son, I'll cover your back. Good luck. Give me a call when you awaken from you healing sleep.

"I will." Clark's shoulders slumped as he again shuffled out of Perry's office to cross the bullpen. He stopped long enough at his desk to pick up his briefcase.

"Hey Kent, what's up with you man? You're not upset over the back slap?" This time, Brad crept up behind Clark and caught him around his waist lifting him off the floor.

Just then, Perry opened the blinds on his office window. Brad Huntley had just grabbed Clark around his waist. He cursed under his breath as he ran out of his office. "That's it Huntley. Your days of bullying staff are over," exclaimed Perry. "You're out of here. Get your stuff. Security will escort you out."

Both Brad and Clark looked shocked at Perry's actions. "You can't terminate me. I'm the best sportswriter you have," smirked Brad while putting Clark down.

"We'll simply muddle on without you. Security, escort Mr. Huntley off the premises. Clark, you go on with what you need to do." Security escorted Brad to his desk to collect his property while Clark proceeded to the day care center.

Upon arrival, Mrs. Rosemont had the twins dressed and ready to leave. "Hello Mr. Kent. I received a call from Mr. White's secretary that you would be leaving early today. I hope everything is alright. After all, they've only been here for two hours."

Clark smiled faintly while the twins babbled and gurgled at the sound of his voice. "Everything is going to be alright Mrs. Rosemont. We'll be back in a few days. I hope they weren't a problem to you?"

"They were very good Mr. Kent, like two precious little gems; no trouble at all."

Clark thought to himself that Mrs. Rosemont didn't know just how precious and miraculous all his children were. "Come on guys, let's go home." He picked up Karala first and cradled her in the crook of his arm. She immediately tried to root to his breast through his suit jacket.

"My, my, she has a strong rooting reflex for a bottle fed baby. After all, males don't nurse babies," said Mrs. Rosemont laughingly. She picked up Jordan who was napping lightly.

If only she knew, thought Clark as he placed his squirming daughter into the carrier. He looked up at Mrs. Rosemont and smiled. "Don't worry; I'll feed her as soon as we get home." He took his sleeping son and secured him into his carrier. Within minutes, he entered the elevator and arrived in the subterranean garage. As he approached his SUV, Bruce emerged from the shadows.

"It took you long enough Boy Scout." Bruce cooed to Karala with a gruff voice. He carefully lifted her carrier out of the stroller frame.

"I had another run-in with Brad when I returned to the bullpen," was Clark's answer as he struggled to remove Jordan's carrier from the stroller frame.

"I've told Perry to terminate him. He's a bully and negatively impacts staff morale. I may need to terminate him myself," as he eased Clark out of the way to smoothly remove Jordan's carrier from the stroller. "You're having problems with your strength aren't you," said Bruce only loud enough for Clark to hear.

Clark avoided Bruce's question. "Don't worry about Brad. Perry finally terminated him as I was leaving."

"What finally convinced Perry to do it? By the way, I'll drive."

Clark frowned, "Brad tackled and lifted me off the floor while I was on my way to the elevator. If Perry had not walked into the bullpen when he did, I'm sure Brad would have body slammed me to the floor. I just never heard him behind me."

"Well, that just confirms what we all thought. Get yourself mentally prepared to sleep for a few days Boy Scout. Your friends will take care of everything else."

Clark lay back gingerly in the front passenger's seat and closed his eyes while Karala wailed to be fed. "This is going to be a very long day." Bruce just mumbled as he drove Clark's SUV out of the garage.

_**Meanwhile, in New York City, in a sub-basement conference room of the United Nations building.**_

Agent Peter Thornton looked over the oval conference table with its fifteen plush chairs. Each member of the UN Security Council sent a representative. Two assistants distributed bound folders to each place with the word CONFIDENTIAL, prominently displayed diagonally across each cover. He knew that his presentation would be a bombshell to the Security Council members but his information was incontrovertible. The conference participants filed quickly and noisily into the room. The current President of the Security, the Ambassador from Russia called the meeting to order. He leaned forward and spoke into his microphone while putting on his translation headphones.

"Good morning fellow members. Thank you for responding quickly to this meeting. We have a presentation from the author of this confidential report, Agent Thornton of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. I present to you Agent Thornton."

He took a deep breath and walked confidently to the front of the conference room. "Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for attending this meeting. Needless to say, everything you will see and hear today must be kept completely confidential from the press until announced by the Secretary General and the respective leaders of each country. I was charged to investigate a number of missing persons from the time that the renegade Kryptonians, General Zod, Ursa and Non, attempted to take over this planet. The investigation took me to six sites where large numbers of mostly female bodies were unearthed. The first sites were in Great Britain, near London, in Paris, France and Beijing, China. There was a new site near Lagos, Nigeria and the largest site was in Metropolis, United States. There were well over 300 female bodies as of this report and 34 male bodies. We estimated that the ages of this group was between 18 years and 26 years of age. All of the females were brutally raped and impregnated with alien DNA. The female bodies all harbored an alien embryo in various stages of development. So far autopsies on the remains indicate that the cause of death was crushing pressure to the pelvic organs causing massive hemorrhage, a slow pain death. We found the remnants of a substance they were fed. It's believed that the substance accelerated the growth and development of the embryos. Necropsies performed on the embryos confirm that the DNA was from two different males. Kryptonian males."

The room erupted into loud yells with each participant demanding to have his or her question answered. "Agent Thornton," asked the representative from Great Britain, "what about the male bodies? How did they die?"

He cast his eyes downward. "As far we can tell, they were all castrated then their throats and skulls were crushed."

The representative from the United States then stood up to ask her question. "Agent Thornton, where are the Kryptonians now?

"They died about three years ago. It seems that the low grade Kryptonite exposure which we used to keep them under control weakened them sufficiently to cause them to contract a terrestrial disease to which they had no immunity, namely influenza. We collected tissue specimens from the three dead Kryptonians and confirmed the DNA of the males. We were able to isolate the female Kryptonian's DNA on all of the dead males. When I started this investigation, prior to the death of the Kryptonians, I questioned Zod concerning the disappearances. He admitted their involvement and even told me about the sites in Nigeria and China. So I asked him, why? He looked at me with cold eyes and said that Kryptonians are as far beyond humans as humans are beyond apes. We were expendable lab animals needed only to incubate a new army for them. He said and I quote, 'Just consider us to be the next step in human evolution. We planned to harvest the embryos and accelerate their growth using advanced Kryptonian technology in Kal-El's fortress.'"

I asked him how many human-Kryptonian hybrids did they attempt. He just laughed a cold and sinister laugh. He didn't know. He said that he stopped to capture Kal-El because his was the best of all Kryptonian DNA. If he could get Kal-El to swear fealty to Zod, this planet would be theirs. As Zod was taken back to his cell, I could hear him yell, this is not yet over.

Again, the room erupted into a roar of questions. The representative of China stated, "You said that the renegade Kryptonians are dead so it is over is it not?"

"With all due respect, sir, it is not over. We don't know how many human-Kryptonian hybrids survived and walk this planet. By now, they would be between seven and eight years old. Then, there is Superman. He should have delivered his child by now. So far, he has not resurfaced with his child. That would mean that there are at least two Kryptonians on our planet. That means there are two Kryptonians too many for our world.

The Security Council president pounded his gavel to get the attention of the group members. "Agent Thornton, what are your recommendations?"

"Sir, I believe that the alien threat to this planet is too great. We've seen that with the renegade Kryptonians and most recently by the abuse of advanced Kryptonian technology. I suggest that we eliminate the threat to our species by capturing Superman and his offspring for sterilization at best or termination at worst."

The meeting went completely silent. Agent Thornton dropped his bomb. It was now time for the Security Council to decide on a plan of action. The Russian Ambassador thanked him for the presentation and adjourned the meeting for private discussions. A decision would be made by the end of the day. Agent Thornton only hoped that the Council would make what he considered to be the right decision for the sake of this planet.

Meanwhile, Clark dozed fitfully while Bruce drove him and the twins home, Karala's wailing and Bruce's muttering peppered the air around him. Little did he know what transpired at the United Nations concerning his future.

_**To be continued… Please, please review.**_

1 Raodetri (raodetrid, pl.) is the Kryptonian name roughly translated godfather while raomutro (raomutrod, pl.) is translated to be godmother.

2 The Kyren is the process of removing the incapacitated head of a great House to preserve and protect the heirs and assets of that House. The Kyren can only be invoked by a majority of the acknowledged Raohim.

3 The Raohim are the collective raodetrid and raomutrod for a Kryptonian child. There is a chief Raodetri and chief Raomutro for a child. When the Kyren is declared, they have complete responsibility for the offspring of the great House even overruling the child's blood relatives. This is to minimize the risk of family members eliminating any competition to becoming the next head of the great house.

4 Cecilia (Ceci) Woods was introduced in "What Sacrifices…" She is the nurse-midwife now nurse practitioner who provided care to Clark during his pregnancy.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed this fiction. I truly appreciate all the positive feedback that I have received and I intend to use all suggestions in some way. I used the real names of streets in New York City. It's a wonderful town.

This chapter will be heavy in medical and nursing care directed to our hero. If you are uncomfortable with medical/nursing descriptions which will be somewhat graphic, stop reading now. Because of my strong medical and nursing background, I am trying to be as realistic as I can be without being gruesome.

**_Acknowledgements:_**

Thank you **_JessieDog_** for reviewing nursing care for appropriateness especially with regard to lactation issues.

I promise **_LexLives_** that I will use all of your suggestions.

**_Saavikam69_**, look out for Brad reappearing. He will resurface looking for revenge on Clark for his job loss.

_**Disclaimers:**_

I don't receive any payment for this fiction and I don't want to infringe on any copyrights. I'm having so much fun with this fiction; I just can't put the toys away. Any similarity to persons living or dead is purely coincidental. Now on with the story. Enjoy.

Chapter 4

_**New York, NY, the United Nations Headquarters**_

Agent Thornton walked confidently down a corridor in the U.N. building. He simply used the same material that he used with the U.S. National Security Agency the previous day. He firmly believed that his fate was inextricably tied to eliminating all non-humans on the Earth for the good of humanity. The NSA members argued that Superman's behavior was purely benevolent since his arrival on the planet however, their protests withered before his photographs of the dead women and men.

The necropsy photographs of the embryos and fetuses clinched his argument. After all, they saw what horrors Kryptonians perpetrated on humans. "Do you want to wait until Superman unleashes a small army of super-powered human-Kryptonian hybrids bred in his Fortress? How long would it take for them to grow to sexual maturity? How many innocent human women would be forced to incubate their army? This is not a new idea. There are many stories of aliens or 'gods' kidnapping human women and impregnating them. It exists in literature and in recent history. Look at the powerful Greek god, Zeus, raping Europa or Ganymede. Those women could not defend themselves and look at the outcome. This example might have only been allegory or legend but look at modern reports of women who claimed to be raped by the "gray aliens"(1) to create human-alien hybrids. Can you discount these reports? In light of the atrocities perpetrated by the Kryptonian renegades, can you take a chance? Don't wait until there are too many for humanity to overcome."

He emphasized that he was not discriminating against Superman or his offspring. He would also object to the Martian Manhunter mixing his DNA with humans. However the Martian Manhunter was self-exiled to the Watchtower Satellite and as long as he remained there, he would not be problematic. He exited the building into the cool morning air assured of the mandate that he had received.

The United Nations Security Council wasted no time in deciding Superman's fate and the fate of his offspring. Agent Thornton and his team were charged to use all available resources to find Superman and his offspring. They were to be restrained for "study only" and were not to be injured in any way. Their fate would depend on Superman's coöperation, namely permanent imprisonment and voluntary sterilization. Thornton knew that imprisonment meant slow Kryptonite poisoning to suppress his and the offspring's powers. This would be a death sentence as it was for Zod, Ursa and Non. If it meant saving humanity, so be it.

A government car waited for him in front of the U.N. building. The driver was Elliot Von Nast accompanied by Mona Horn. Thornton knew that these two agents were totally committed to the cause. Both saw the atrocities carried out by Zod and his minions.

"How did it go with the Security Council?" asked Horn, her dark eyes flashing, questioning Thornton as he entered the car.

Thornton responded while lighting a cigarette. "They're committed to the search but they don't want the K-man(2) or his offspring injured. They seem to think that K-man will sit quietly in a cell with his bastard. We need to get to Metropolis to set up the search operation. Even though K-man has not reappeared in public with K-2, we need to begin the search where he was last seen. There's a private jet waiting for us at LaGuardia Airport. We'll set up an operational base in Metropolis today then, we'll start our search at the Daily Planet." The black government car pulled away from the curb to merge with traffic crossing the Triborough Bridge to Queens and a flight to Metropolis. The trio discussed search strategies.

"You know, we have no idea if K-man's offspring is male or female," said Von Nast turning onto Ditmars Blvd. to enter the airport.

"What does it matter," said Horn coolly. "We saw the human corpses. They're not human. Think of it like you're exterminating a hornet and its nest. K-man and K-2 are not our kind. They never belonged here and we need to rid ourselves of Kryptonian technology so that the likes of Luthor can never abuse it again."

Thornton smiled to himself thinking that Von Nast and Horn were good soldiers, committed to the cause and capable of being totally ruthless. He puffed on his cigarette aware that theirs was a holy campaign to rid the Earth of those who would pollute the purity of the human race. He would succeed where others had failed. He thought of that oaf, Lex Luthor. Luthor was more interested in self-aggrandizement than ridding the planet of a menace. Thornton believed that his motives were pure and altruistic therefore assuring his success. In no time, K-man and K-2 would have no place to hide. Public option would quickly turn against them. No place on this planet would be safe for them and that's exactly what he wanted.

_**Clark's SUV on the way to the Kent Family compound**_

Clark awoke in his SUV to hear Bruce swearing under his breath. They were stuck in traffic behind an accident. The SUV crawled at five miles per hour. Jordan slept but Karala continued loud wailing. "She's hungry Boy Scout. What are you going to do about it," he hissed.

Clark looked perplexed as Bruce silently looked at his chest and jerked his head toward the baby. "You want me to feed her here? Now? Have you lost your mind? How would it look for me to 'whip out a nipple' for her every time she whimpered?"

"You better get use to it Boy Scout! Besides, what do nursing mothers usually do in this situation? Let me answer for you. They 'whip out a nipple' and feed the kid. I'll pull onto the shoulder. Traffic isn't moving anyway. Get a blanket & cover yourself up. I'll bring her over to you.

Bruce exited the SUV avoiding traffic. He thought to himself that it's good that the SUV's windows are tinted. No one would detect Clark's activities. He carefully unbuckled the crying baby from her carrier and lifted her out. He murmured little sounds to her and she responded to his voice. "She knows her uncle's voice already," he said as he grinningly handed her to Clark. Clark had used a moist wipe to cleanse his chest then placed the hungry baby under the blanket. She immediately rooted to his breast and the occupants of the SUV enjoyed the first quiet time in twenty minutes.

"See Boy Scout, that wasn't so difficult, was it?"

Clark just sighed and shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "I guess it really isn't; I'm just so tired. How will I be able to care for the babies and still undergo the healing sleep?"

"Don't worry. I've told you already; it's all worked out. The Raohim have carefully planned to sit with you and the children for the next week if you need the time." Clark just slumped against the passenger side door, his head against the window and his daughter at his breast. Bruce frowned and activated his JLA communicator. "Tower, we are less than fifteen minutes from destination. The subject is slipping. Everyone must be ready on arrival, over."

The response from J'onn J'onzz was terse but clear, "Tower to transport understood. We're ready, out." J'onn called the JLA members waiting at Clark's house. Green Arrow as Oliver Queen assisted the Flash as Wally West to complete setting up the med bay unit in Clark's basement room. The basement playroom opened into a glass enclosed greenhouse/patio. They planned to keep Clark in bright sunshine as much as possible. Oliver turned Wally, "we've got to speed it up; they're less than fifteen minutes away & Clark's not doing well. I'll see if Ceci's ready."

He turned into the adjacent play area where Ceci Woods(3) set up an IV. "They're almost here Miss Ceci. Bruce says that Clark's not doing well. Are you ready?" Ceci turned her rotund, 5'2" frame to Oliver Queen who towered over her head.

"Yes, I'm ready, Mr. Queen. Make sure that the stretcher is ready for him. I don't want him walking around. Has Mrs. Kent arrived yet?"

"J'onn plans to teleport her in a few minutes. First he's teleporting the IV fluids from STAR Labs. We're trying to be inconspicuous with our activities. We don't want to draw too much attention to Clark's home."

"They're here," yelled Wally as he raced outside to meet Bruce and his charges.

"Go see how things are going Mr. Queen. I'll meet you outside. J'onn is teleporting Miss Martha now. Ceci took the teleported IV fluids to the basement refrigerator.

"Okay," replied Oliver as he walked outside to meet Bruce. The SUV pulled up to the garage and Bruce quickly exited. "Hey team, Clark fell asleep while feeding Karala. We need to awaken him." He opened the passenger door slowly assuring that Clark didn't tumble out. He slept soundly.

"Boy Scout, you're home! Come on. You need to give us Karala and get out the van."

"Wh…what?" replied Clark sleepily, promptly returning to a sound sleep.

"We're going to need to lift him out. I'll take Karala & you guys get him out." Bruce removed the obscuring blanket to find Karala sleeping & firmly nestled in her father's arms but latched to his left breast. Bruce attempted to remove her but she redoubled her suckling reflex to remain latched. The JLA team members looked at each other perplexed about what to do next.

"What do we do now?" asked Wally.

Oliver turned to Wally & replied, "get Ceci and Martha. Women know about these things and will know what to do."

Bruce turned to them and said confidently, "I know what to do. You don't need to be a woman; you just need to surf the Internet. He took a small bottle of hand cleanser out of an inner jacket pocket & swiftly cleansed his hands. Carefully he inserted his pinky finger into the corner of her little mouth forcing her to break the suction grip she had on Clark's breast. Neither Karala nor Clark awoke during this minor procedure. "See, nothing to it when you know what to do." He placed the sleeping baby in her carrier while Oliver removed Jordan from the SUV.

Oliver replied drily, "I'll remember that the next time I have a baby latched on to one of my breasts. Wally clutched his chest and muttered, "wow, that's gotta hurt." Meanwhile, Ceci and Martha joined the men in the driveway.

"Hi everybody," said Martha as she greeted the JLA members. She kissed each baby while they slept. Then, she turned to the passenger side of the SUV and gasped to see three League members attempting to coerce Clark out of his seat. Bruce glanced up to and smiled at her. "Sorry you had to see this Mrs. Kent. We're just gently coaxing him out of the van. He's isn't really cooperating." Bruce pushed while Oliver pulled on Clark's arms and Wally attempted to get his legs out of the vehicle.

"Come on fellas; I'm tired. Just let me sleep here," mumbled Clark in a sleepy haze. He attempted to roll up into a tight ball in the van.

"Excuse me gentlemen, I might be able to help you here," said Martha softly. She turned to the van and said in a clear firm voice. "Clark Jerome Kent!"

He immediately jerked his head up and responded with his eyes closed in a sheepish voice. "Yes, ma'am?"

"Come out of the van this instant and coöperate with these gentlemen."

"Yes ma'am," he responded again in a quiet sheepish voice with his eyes half closed. He stopped struggling and put an unsteady foot out of the van. Within seconds, he stood wobbly next to the van with Bruce holding him up on one side.

"Wally pull the stretcher next to the van," to which Wally responded by having the stretcher within inches of Clark.

"Now Clark, open your eyes so you can see where you're going. Do you see the stretcher? I want you to get onto the stretcher and get comfortable. We'll have you indoors in a few minutes."

"Thanks Mom. I'm so tired and I just need some sleep," he responded weakly while settling onto the stretcher. He rolled onto his side and buried his head into the soft pillows with a faint smile on his face.

"I know son and we're going to help you get that rest," as she kissed him softly on his forehead. She then nodded to the men to take him into the house.

Oliver shrugged his shoulders. "If we want him to do anything, don't fight him. I suggest we call his Mom. He'll listen to her even if he's comatose." The stretcher bearing its sleepy occupant proceeded to the rear of the house to enter the improvised basement med bay.

Ceci called out, "Bring the stretcher over here please gentlemen. We need to get him out of his clothes." She pulled back the sheets & bedspread on the bed while setting up the intravenous infusion angiocath. She turned back to find the JLA members looking at each other. "Come on gentlemen, we're wasting time here. Start by taking off his jacket, trousers and shoes. Don't you fellas have showers up there on that Watchtower of yours? After all his equipment is no different from yours."

"I don't think you understand Ceci. This is Superman we'll be undressing!" Wally responded meekly.

Ceci rolled her eyes at that statement. "Oh, I'll do it myself. Clark, this is Ceci. I need to get you out of your clothes. Sit up." She helped him into a sitting position as Martha entered the room carrying Jordan while Bruce followed her cooing at Karala.

Bruce looked at the comical scene of Ceci pulling Clark's jacket off while Wally and Oliver stood staring at their feet. "What are you people waiting for? Help the lady" he said gruffly. Karala promptly started crying because of being frightened by the Caped Crusader. "I'm sorry sweetheart; Uncle Brucey didn't mean to frighten the little Miss," he murmured to her while rocking her gently. He scowled at Wally and Bruce who quickly returned to the task of assisting Ceci.

With much struggling, Clark was stripped down to his boxers. The entire time, he shivered and complained of being cold. He was finally maneuvered onto the bed where he rolled onto his side to get the pressure off his back. That was when Ceci had the opportunity to carefully look at his wounds. It took less than a minute for her to size up the damage.

She called Martha and the JLA team aside to explain the problem. Taking a deep breath she explained, "I hate to say this but Clark's wounds have become infected. It's been more than three days since the Presentation ceremony. He needs to have his wounds debrided and he's going to need antibiotics to clear up the infection.

Bruce spoke up first. "Tell us what you need and you'll have it.

"We can set up a minor surgery suite from the equipment we have here but we're going to need a surgeon to perform the actual procedure. Clark's going to need some strong IV antibiotics. I'll choose two that would be safe to a person breast-feeding a baby. I would suggest that we enlist another of the Raohim, Dr. Bryant."(4). He'll be discrete and confidential about this project."

Bruce moved away from the group to call J'onn at the Watchtower. Quickly explaining the change in plans, he returned to tell the group that J'onn would contact the doctor and have antibiotics teleported to Clark's home. He dismissed Oliver and Wally to resume their patrol activities and thanked them for their help. In the meantime, he would stay but in his Batman guise until after Clark's procedure was complete.

Martha approached Ceci with the next pending problem. "Ceci, Clark fed Karala on his way home but Jordan is getting fussy. There are no more bottles of milk. We may need to start pumping him now.

Ceci frowned, "I guess I need to start that IV now after all. I'll need your moral support." She turned back to the improvised med bay and leaned over her sleepy charge to whisper into his ear. "Clark, it's me Ceci. You're getting dehydrated and we need to keep up your milk supply for the babies. I'm going to start an IV to give you some fluids and nutrition to prevent dehydration." Clark just responded, "Hum, humm."

"I guess that's a go Martha. Let's roll him onto his back. His veins are good so I'll insert the IV into his left forearm." She applied a tourniquet & antiseptically cleansed his skin. The #18 gauge angiocath slid easily into his vein and within seconds was taped securely to his skin. She allowed the IV to infuse quickly to replenish Clark's waning milk supply. "We can set up two bassinets close to his bed. The sound of a baby crying will stimulate the milk let down reflex making it easier to pump his milk. Now for the last procedure; he hates it but it has to be." Leaning over the bed again she told him, "Clark, I'm going to insert that urinary catheter." This time Clark sleepily opened his eyes. "Noooo Ceci, you know I hate those things."

Before Ceci could reply, Martha intervened, "Clark, son, listen to me. You have the right to decide what you want done to your body but you have only two choices. You can have a very discreet catheter with a hidden bag collecting urine or the titular Chancellor of Krypton will pee all over himself in the presence of two justice league members for the next two or three days. Make up your mind now!"

Clark groaned and moaned, "Okay, okay, you win; can I sleep now? Please?"

"Let's hurry Ceci before he changes his mind." They got him out his boxers quickly and carefully while preserving his sense of modesty. Ceci then lubricated and inserted the catheter with a minimum of complaint from their subject. She anchored the device to his thigh to prevent torsion. "Thanks Martha, I couldn't have gotten this far without your help.

Martha turned to her friend with a tortured look on her face. "We've taken care of the urine issue. What do we do about solid excrement? You're aware that I toilet trained him as a child." Ceci just shrugged her shoulders. "He isn't going to be eating anything for a few days so nothing will go through his GI tract. We'll worry about that in three days or so." Meanwhile let's start the pumping process & take care of your grandchildren." One hour later, Clark drifted into the deep healing coma, the babies were fed and the two women took a well-deserved break for a cup of tea knowing that Dr. Bryant would soon arrive to perform the debridement procedure.

Dr. Bryant arrived on his motorcycle less than 90 minutes after Clark arrived at home. He explained to Bruce, disguised as Batman, that J'onn reached him while he was in the Operating suite otherwise he would have arrived earlier. "I knew that when Mr. John Jones left a message to call him as soon possible, it must be very serious."

They walked to the rear of the house. "Ceci will explain everything to you, Dr. Bryant. Kal-El or Clark as he's known at home needs your expertise to care for the wounds he received during the Presentation Ceremony. Dr. Bryant removed his jacket and washed his hands.

"I feared that this might happen so I brought a few supplies from the Operating Suite. I have several scalpels, forceps, hemostats, suture material and scissors. What about gauze, antiseptics, tape and bandages?"

"I've got it all but for anesthesia; I only have 2% Lidocaine which I planned to use when I inserted a PICC5 line. I don't have anywhere near enough for his entire back." Ceci paced back and forth while thinking of a plan.

"We're going to make it work. How deep is his coma right now?" Dr. Bryant approached Clark's sleeping figure. He applied deep pressure over Clark's right eye. He didn't move. "I think we can debride his wounds while he's comatose. We better get started."

Clark was rolled onto his abdomen with his arms stretched above his head. Dr. Bryant made the first incision and Clark didn't move. They quickly removed dead tissue from Clark's back only using the Lidocaine when Clark's back muscles quivered involuntarily or if he moaned. One hour later, all dead or infected tissue had been removed and Clark lay on his side propped up with pillows. The room was cleaned up and all debrided tissue was teleported to Watchtower for disposal. Ceci then started IV Amoxicillin to be followed by IV Vancomycin since both medications were deemed to be category B.(6) Clark's bed was then moved into the glass enclosed patio to soak up as much sun-light as possible.

After the materials were teleported to Watchtower, Diana Prince in her alter ego of Wonder Woman arrived to sit with Clark. She was always amazed by the sight of children. She held Jordan carefully in her arms, her Amazonian bracelets barely visible. She mused to Martha and Ceci, "I was the last child born on Themyscira. Queen Hippolyta, my mother, was unable to bear children so she formed a baby out of clay and begged the gods to give it life. Her wish was granted and I came to be. But that was many thousands of years ago. That these tiny beings will eventually grow into full grown adults is still amazing to me. I was the only person to age on Themyscira. No one else has aged or changed." Martha and Ceci looked at the beautiful youthful appearing Amazon who was thousands of years old.

"You must have had the most incredible experiences Princess. Maybe you can share some of them with us," said Ceci in wonder at the Princess.

Diana looked at her, a small tear running down her cheek. "I think you have the more incredible life Miss Ceci. You assisted these miraculous children enter the world. I would give up immortality to have the opportunity to feel the miracle of life grow within me. I would be able to watch them as they grow and learn." Jordan observed her intently then gave an immense yawn as if he tired of the discussion. She gave a small laugh at his antics. "See, he's listened to me bore you with my prattling. He's ready to take a nap." She gave the dozing baby to his grandmother. How's Clark doing?" She advanced to his bedside where she could see the IV fluids infusing at 200 ml/hour. On further inspection, she barely recognized the carefully concealed urinary catheter. She swept his tumbled black hair out of his face and sighed for what might have been between them.

"His body is repairing itself now since he's undergoing the healing sleep. As far as I could tell from the Lara AI, this is an important step in healing Kryptonians. Already, the wounds on his back have improved just with the debridement and a few doses of antibiotics. Clark needs to understand that the Raohim are committed to help him. He just needs to let us help him.

Martha and Ceci fed the babies while Princess Diana sat at Clark's bedside. She knew that the League assumed Clark's immense patrol of the planet. She hoped that the people of Earth understood the sacrifices he made for them. Diana planned to talk to him about reducing his patrol responsibilities when his gifts returned. After all, he now had family responsibilities.

_**Meanwhile at Metropolis Police Department**_

Lois Lane-White was in full mad dog mode when she finally tracked down Bill Henderson. "Come on Henderson, you're never this secretive with me. This must be a really hot story. All I've gotten so far is that it has something to do with some bodies that you're exhuming outside the city."

Henderson stopped abruptly in the middle of the corridor. Grabbing Lois' wrist, he directed her toward an empty conference room. "You might a great reporter but you don't know how to be discrete. Tell me, what do you know about Superman?"

"I'm virtually his press agent," she smirked.

"Then what would you say if I told you that you don't really know the man," hissed Henderson.

Lois pulled back in shock. "What are you talking about? I'm following up on that cache of bodies you located. What does that have to do with him?"

"The bodies are the legacy of the renegade Kryptonians, Zod, Ursa and Non. They tried to breed an army of human-Kryptonian hybrids using human women impregnated with Kryptonian sperm. Then they planned to accelerate the growth of the hybrids in Superman's Fortress. We don't know how many hybrids survived. They would be about seven years old by now. Not only that but now Superman learned how to procreate by himself using Fortress technology. All of this will be released to the press in one hour by the United Nations' Secretary General and the President of the United States, simultaneously. They're going to ask Superman to turn himself over to U.N. custody along with his offspring. They want to know about any contact he has ever had with human females."

Lois gasped and restrained herself from assaulting Henderson. Her only thought was of her son, Jason. Somehow she had to protect him from this witch hunt against Kryptonians.

_**To be continued. Please, please review.**_

(1) Gray aliens allegedly crashed at Roswell, NM in 1947. Since that time, many reports have circulated alleging that these aliens are conducting a breeding program mixing human-alien DNA to produce viable offspring. wiki/Grey_alien

(2) K-man is the code name for Superman during the search operation. K-2 is the code name for his child.

(3) Ceci Woods along with Dr. Maria Prenden worked with Clark to get him to term with his pregnancy. They are also privy to Clark's secret and several members of the JLA. Ceci is a nurse-midwife and a family nurse practitioner. She is functioning in the nurse practitioner role.

(4) Dr. Andrew Bryant (created by Shado Librarian for her fiction, _**Shadows in Darkness**_), is the surgeon that assisted Dr. Prenden in the birthing of the twins. He is aware of Clark's dual identity.

(5) PICC line is a peripherally inserted central line.

(6) Category B medications are those medications that have been studied and determined to be safe when given to pregnant or lactating lab animals.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Hi everyone,

Welcome to the "What Sacrifices" AU. I've received so many terrific suggestions for this fiction that I'm taking the time to incorporate all ideas from the readers. Therefore, this chapter has a lot of activity with 3 or 4 subplots, all from suggestions, but all are essential to the story.

**Acknowledgements:**

Thank you to _**Afred**_ and _**LexLives**_. Both wanted to see more action from Jason. Jason will play a crucial role since he is the only surviving human-kryptonian hybrid. Both Afred and LexLives wanted to see an angry rebellious Jason so I incorporated their suggestions into two dream sequences. The first of the two is described in this chapter. Therefore, I'm dedicating this chapter to both of you.

My thanks to _**JessieDog**_ for reviewing care of the comatose patient with me. Again, your suggestions are invaluable.

Welcome and thank you _**Azure Gryphon, Daisydreamer22, JessieDog, Saavikam69, Seirei Nightlord05 and neils66**_ for making my humble fiction one of your favorites.

Thank you to _** , JessieDog, Saavikam69, tweets and Seirei Nightlord05**_ for following this fiction.

**Synopsis**:

Clark returned to work, sick and weakened by his recent ordeal at the Presentation rite. He and the twins were generally welcomed by the bullpen staff except for the office bully, Brad Huntley in the Sports Department. Brad was about to play one of his many practical jokes on Clark when Perry caught him in the act and promptly fired him. Perry sent Clark to see Bruce Wayne, their publisher about whether he was really fit to return to work. Bruce, realizing that Clark was not sufficiently recovered, decided to invoke an old Kryptonian custom called the Kyren which requires that an incapacitated member of a Great House must relinquish his responsibilities for that House until he recovers. Clark has relinquished those responsibilities to Bruce who is like a brother to him. Clark is now home in his healing comas healing shis healing sleep ideas from the readers. Therefore, hat some humans are weaving against him and his but is unaware of the plots that some humans are weaving against him and his family.

**Disclaimer**:

I get nothing from DC Comics, Warner Brothers or any organization holding the copyrights to the Superman franchise. I just enjoy playing with their toys.

Chapter 5

_**Metropolis Police Department Headquarters, midmorning, Day 2 after the Presentation Rite**_

"Lane? Lane! What's wrong with you? You wanted a story; I'm giving you one," said Henderson when he caught up to Lois.

"I don't want to hear what you have to say. You of all people Henderson. He's helped you with some of Metropolis' worse criminals. You know that better than most. How can you think such things of him? Superman has been a good man from the day he arrived in Metropolis. You're trying to smear him with the actions of people who were consummately evil. Judge him by _**his**_ actions; don't paint him with a broad brush as being evil because of the actions of others."

"I'm neither smearing nor judging him in any way. I've been conscripted to gather information and evidence. If Superman hasn't impregnated any human females, he's innocent. If he has, that's an entirely different story.

"Why, Henderson? Why would his being in love with someone make him guilty? Maybe he just wanted the same things that any human male wants. Maybe he just wanted a family. Maybe he didn't even know that humans and Kryptonians could interbreed." Lois' speech was becoming increasingly pressured and shrill. Henderson didn't know what to make of her line of questioning.

"That's a lot of maybes. Open your eyes Lane. He's not one of us. We've had contact with four Kryptonians. Three of the four tried to take over the planet. Maybe Superman's strategy is different. Like the Trojan horse, befriend your enemy, lull them into a false sense of security and then destroy them from within. They wouldn't know what hit them until it's too late. I don't know; I don't know what to think anymore. I just want to do the right thing for humanity; for my children and yours!"

"What you're saying is being racist. That means you would be willing to destroy an innocent man?" Lois' eyes flashed with the intensity of her anger.

"Not racist; he's not part of the human race. He's not a man Lane; he's not human. I'm not sure what his rights are. We can't call them human rights. The world has never faced this question before."

"Of course the world has faced this question. _**PETA**_(1) advocates for animals. Whales are protected. Chimps and apes are protected too and they're not even sentient. Laboratories refuse to experiment on animals because it's inhumane. Why should it be any less for Superman?"

"It's because a dog, cat or chimp can't take over the world. Superman can! Until I see proof to the contrary, I'm going to remain skeptical about his motives."

"Get out of my way. You're totally useless to me." Lois stormed past the detective, her dark hair flying in the breeze. She needed answers and she needed them now. She planned to go to Clark's house for her answers but first she needed to make sure that her children were safe. Richard and Jimmy were following leads in New York. She needed to make sure Richard was aware of the activities in Metropolis. Lois called Richard's number and left a message on his voicemail apprising him of the situation at Metropolis Police Department. She returned to the Planet to submit her story and wait for Richard's call.

_**United Nations Headquarters, New York City, late afternoon**_

Richard White and Jimmy Olsen received their press passes and pushed their way into the gallery. It was rare for the U.N. to call a meeting of the General Assembly on such short notice. He noticed that Lois had left him a voicemail but it would need to wait until after the Secretary's speech.

Jimmy rechecked the settings on his camera while talking to Richard. "Shoot, look at the crowd. What can bring the U.N. together like this?" he mumbled while checking his lens settings and shutter speed.

"I don't know. Superman hasn't been seen or heard from since the attack of that meta-human. Who knows what he's up to right now?" Richard was privy to Clark's dual life but he was unsure of Jimmy's knowledge. He knew that Jimmy wasn't one of the Raohim so he was not about to divulge any sensitive information.

Jimmy continued rambling while adjusting his camera. "Maybe they want to honor him. After all, they know how much he's done for the world. Maybe they want to offer him help in caring for his child. Really, how many men would agree to an unwanted, unplanned pregnancy especially for a whole year? I know I wouldn't!"

Richard smiled within while listening to Jimmy's musings. "Don't forget he's the last of his people. I guess that all living creatures have the need to continue their species at all costs but somehow, I don't think he would have chosen the way it happened."

Jimmy turned to him, "What do you mean? It isn't like he arrived with a female of his species. There was no Eve to his Adam."

Richard was becoming exasperated with Jimmy but he knew he was treading very close to outing Clark. He needed to change the topic somehow. "Well, let's get back to the task at hand. It looks like the Secretary General is about to speak."

The Secretary General slowly advanced to the podium to address the assembly. He looked as if he carried a tremendous weight on his shoulders. "Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen and all the people of planet Earth. Thank you for this opportunity to address you. Nearly ten years ago, this world became aware in a dramatic way that we were not alone in the universe. Superman, as he came to be known burst onto the world stage. He came with a message of peace, kindness and generosity; the last of his people, a refugee with no home. This world openly accepted him but less than three years later, we later we fought for our planet against three others of his kind. They were cruel and malevolent with one goal, to wrestle this world away from humanity and make it fit for their own kind. Again we relied on Superman to save us and he did. The Kryptonian renegades recently died in captivity but before they died, their leader, Zod, told us of their plan to breed an army of human-Kryptonian hybrids. We have excavated sites in numerous countries and found the remains of hundreds of humans, women and men who were used in their failed breeding program. They produced viable embryos and fetuses but they could not be carried to term. They planned to remove the offspring, discard the human hosts and accelerate their growth in Superman's Fortress of Solitude. We are unsure of how they planned to use the men. All we know is that they were tortured and mutilated before a horrible death. We don't know if any women survived to give birth to a Kryptonian hybrid but we do know that judging from the age of the embryos and fetuses, a hybrid would be between seven and eight years old. This brings me to Superman. We know so little about him. He disappeared as quickly as he appeared for five years, only to reappear again when the world was at risk of destruction from Kryptonian technology. Then, we hear that he's pregnant to the shock of most people. Is this his ultimate goal, to take over the world with his own offspring? We leaders of the world will not take that chance. Because of the risk told to us by the leader of the Kryptonians, we now ask Superman to come forward and surrender with his offspring. We only wish to place you and your offspring under protective custody for questioning. What are your intentions on our planet? Have you produced any hybrids as the renegades did? We are a benevolent people Superman but we are willing to use force to obtain answers to our questions."

The Secretary General had a pained expression while he made his announcement but he knew that the President of the United States and all other world leaders made the exact same plea to Superman. It was the first time that they were united in agreement on one thing. Now, he would give the ultimatum. "We will give you four days Superman to present yourself with your offspring, here at the U.N. for interrogation only. Your fate and the fate of your species will depend on your responses. Your four days begins now." The Secretary General turned and walked away from the podium amid angry shouts from the assembled group.

Jimmy and Richard were aghast with the ultimatum. Jimmy was the first to recover from the shock. "What are they saying? Have they lost their minds? They're equating Superman to the Kryptonian renegades based on the flimsiest of evidence. It's like saying all Muslims are evil because of the actions of Al Qaida.

"They're afraid Jimmy and fearful people do impulsive things in the name of security." Richard knew the feeling. All he could think of was Lois, Joanne, his little girl and Jason, his human-kryptonian hybrid son, Superman's son. His heart beat rapidly and he needed to catch his breath but he couldn't allow Jimmy to see his anxiety. He took deep breaths to regain control then said, "We need to get back to Metropolis with this news. I need to call Lois and update her on what's happening in New York." He told Jimmy to email his photos to the Planet while he called her. "Hi Lo, how are you? Boy have we got a story here. This is the biggest story since Superman returned."

Lois was overjoyed to hear his voice. "Is it about the Boy Scout? There's a witch hunt going on here in Metropolis."

Richard replied quietly, "We're doing some snooping while we're here to get to the bottom of this story. We'll see you in a few days. Kiss the kids for me." He terminated the call.

Lois felt dread in her heart for Richard and Clark. Be careful she whispered to herself. She didn't know what she would do without him.

_**Daily Planet Building, Metropolis**_

Agent Thornton arrived with his associates, Von Nast and Horn at the Daily Planet's bullpen. The newspaper's staff stood before TV monitors watching the proceedings from the U.N and the White House. There was a hush in the room as if everyone was in shock. "Attention people," he yelled in a loud voice. "Where is your editor? My team has been charged by the National Security Agency and the United Nations to seek out Superman for questioning.

Perry, hearing the ruckus in the bullpen, quickly traversed the distance between his office and the elevators. "I'm Perry White, editor-in-chief. What do you want with Superman? No one has seen him for weeks."

"Mr. White, we would just like to ask a few questions of you and certain of your staff. If you don't mind, I need access to personnel records. Agents Horn and Von Nast will be the people to examine the records."

"I do mind. Those records are confidential; you have no right to them." He motioned to his secretary to come into his office. "Luanne, have legal get their best lawyers up here now and have Mr. Wayne get here ASAP. Agent Thornton, I'm not answering any questions without legal counsel and the knowledge of our publisher." He nodded to his secretary who quickly retreated out the door.

"By all means Mr. White! This investigation is totally legal and sanctioned by the highest authorities in the United States and the U.N. but we will do this by the book. Then, you'll answer our questions."

"Like Hell I will! You people have already tried and convicted a man who has only been good to the people of this world. It was obvious from the President's and the Secretary-General's announcements. How many thousands, no millions of people can thank him for saving their lives."

"We'll see, Mr. White. We'll see," was Thornton's drool response.

_**Clark's home in Metropolis**_

Bruce Wayne received the call from his secretary while he was at Clark's home. He was exhausted but finally felt that everything was under control. Clark was home with his children and was finally getting the rest he needed to heal completely. His mother and Ceci the nurse-practitioner tended to his wounds. Even the debridement procedure went well. Maybe things could finally get back to normal.

Bruce just looked at his iPhone while still in his Batman guise. "Yes, Janet, what is it this time," he said tiredly. He couldn't wait to see the end of this day; healing sleep didn't sound like a bad idea for humans.

"I'm sorry to disturb you Mr. Wayne but there are three agents from the National Security Agency in Mr. White's office wanting to get access to our confidential personnel files."

Sleep immediately left Bruce's mind; he couldn't be more alert when he heard about NSA agents at the Daily Planet. "I haven't kept up with the news today Janet. Give me a quick synopsis of what's happened and how it affects the Planet." Janet boiled down the day's events into their salient points. While she was talking, Bruce changed back into his business man's suit and tie. "These are my directions. Tell Mr. White that nothing is to occur with these agents until I arrive. I'm nearby and should be there within fifteen minutes. Is that understood?" He ran downstairs to the improvised med bay where Clark drifted into his deepest level of coma.

Martha and Ceci had washed and turned him, concerned that since he lost his invulnerability, he would be at risk for all the complications that any human would suffer while comatose. They had swabbed his mouth to prevent bacterial and fungal infections. He was now receiving oxygen via a nasal cannula. Bruce frowned at this development. "Is he having trouble breathing Ceci?"

Ceci turned to him looking just as exhausted as he felt. "We're not sure Mr. Wayne. No one has any idea what to expect in a healing Kryptonian. His blood oxygen level dropped to 90% for awhile. That's a trigger point to action in humans so we're going to treat him the same way. His blood oxygen rose to 97% I'm more comfortable with him on oxygen than not."

"How are his children?" He looked toward the bassinettes that harbored the now sleeping Kent twins.

"They're fretful at best. They seem to sense that something is wrong; even Martha's soothing ministrations aren't comforting them. We saw this at _STAR Labs_ when he was in real medical trouble."

Bruce turned to Ceci knowing that Clark couldn't be under better care than that provided by Ceci and Martha. "There's trouble on the horizon. I'm going to Metropolis to try to avert it. Just do the best you can with them but be ready to move them on a moment's notice." He turned away from Ceci and called J'onn J'onzz on his Watchtower communicator. "Watchtower, this is traveler B. Emergency transfer requested to roof of P1.(2)

"Watchtower to traveler, P1 roof scanned. No one present at destination. Prepare for emergency transfer in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1." Within seconds, Bruce stood next to the immense globe at the Daily Planet. "Traveler to Watchtower, transport completed. I'll get back to you as soon as I can. Traveler, out."

"Good luck traveler. Watchtower out."

Bruce raced down the stairs from the roof arriving at the bullpen to find Perry continuing his argument with Agent Thornton. He entered the conference room unannounced. "Mr. White, I'll take over from here. Agent Thornton, I presume?" Thornton rose from his chair extending his hand for a handshake. Bruce didn't reciprocate. Bruce advanced into the conference room, taking his usual seat at the head of the conference table. "I understand that you want confidential information about our employees. Why?"

Thornton returned to his chair and responded coldly, "I have been entrusted by the President of the United States and the Secretary General of the United Nations with the apprehension of the being known as Superman and his offspring. Since he has been known to give exclusive stories to several of your reporters, it is logical to begin the investigation here."

"I want to examine all subpoenas and legal documents giving you this authority," responded Bruce. He motioned to his lawyer to accept the documents.

"Of course Mr. Wayne. You'll find everything in order." He handed a number of documents to Ira Rosenthal, Wayne Industries chief legal consultant for matters pertaining to the Daily Planet. Mr. Rosenthal took his time but reviewed all of the documents. His conclusion was that everything Thornton said was legitimate.

Upon hearing this, Thornton made his first requests. "I want to see the personnel files for the following reporters, Lois Lane, Richard White, Brad Huntley and Clark Kent. Then, I want to interview them."

"And may I ask, why these particular reporters?" asked Perry.

Thornton turned coolly to Perry. "I can't share that information with you Mr. White. It would jeopardize the investigation. Since it is so late in the evening, have your people prepare copies of these files for my review. We will return at 8:00 am tomorrow. Until tomorrow gentlemen." Thornton and his team exited the conference room and finally left the bullpen.

"Mr. White, please have the copies prepared as requested but I want to review Clark Kent's file before Thornton receives it. I want to determine what these people are looking for.

Perry was uncomfortable talking to **the** Mr. Bruce Wayne about Clark. The last thing he wanted to do was raise suspicions about Clark with his employer. "Mr. Wayne, Clark is part of the best reporting team in the journalistic world. He's had some bad breaks this past year with his having been sick then finding out about the twins; not only that but his injuries and all. I'm sure that as soon as he gets his life together he will be a real asset to the paper."

"I don't doubt that Mr. White. Clark will be up & running in no time. It's this investigation that concerns me. This looks more like a vendetta than anything else. I'll check some of my connections to get the lowdown on this group. Take your time getting the copies to these people. I don't want to make this process too easy for them."

Perry had a faint smile. He thought cynically that there was more to this eccentric playboy than what appeared to be. Bruce left Perry in the conference room and returned to his office. Activating his security field, he called Watchtower. "J'onn, I'm calling a priority one meeting of all founding members. We have a situation which will affect the entire league. Have them meet in one hour.

His response from Watchtower was, "Understood, traveler. We will be ready. Any prep material requested?"

"Yes, anything available on Agents Kyle Thornton, Mona Horn & Elliot Von Nast including why they are so committed to destroying anything Kryptonian. Are they prejudiced in any way toward Superman?

"Will do; Watchtower out."

Bruce was determined to get to the bottom of this mystery.

_**Clark's home, 12:30 am**_

Clark's vital signs began to change to his normal baseline. His pulse rate decreased to 38 to 41 beats per minute with a blood pressure of 152/66. He remained on nasal oxygen but his respirations were steady at 12 per minute. Martha, Emil and Bernie confirmed that his body temperature was normally higher than any human's. When his temperature rose to 102.6 degrees Fahrenheit (39.2 degrees Celsius), Clark's caregivers had a sense that he had turned a corner toward recovery. Physically, Clark was recovering but his emotions seeped into his dreams subsequently torturing his mind.

He was unable to move but could hear everything transpiring in the room. Emil and Bernie talked about the ultimatum the U.N. gave Superman and how Clark would need to respond to it. Martha and Ceci sent them to another part of the house so that they would not disturb Clark's rest.

He suffered nightmares while comatose. Clark envisioned himself in the future as a human without Kryptonian powers while raising three gifted young people.

"_What makes you think you can stop us, Father," Karala sneered with her hands on her hips. You never regained your powers when Jordan and I were born. Jason will "babysit" us. You don't need to worry about our being hurt. We can't be injured. Besides, I want to find out what the hoopla is about at this club._

_Clark knew that he needed to exert control over his family. "It's a school night for you and Jordan. You simply can't go to the same kinds of clubs as your older brother. There is a teen club you can attend on the weekend and I'll bring you home at 10:00 pm. _

"_No old man! We're going out and you can't stop us," Jordan replied. Clark stood up to physically obstruct their path. _

"_No, I won't allow it." Clark stopped in front of the entrance to their home. "Stop this now, the three of you!" The three young people laughed. Karala threw him across the room, his head hitting the edge of the coffee table and drawing blood. Jordan raced across the room; lifting his father above his head and tossing him like a rag doll across the room. Clark was barely conscious and experienced severe pain. He moved slowly aware that he had fractured several ribs making it difficult to breathe. It was Jason's turn to assault his father._

"_You're outdated Dad. You've outlived your usefulness. He grabbed his father by the throat. Clark tried to break Jason's grip but realized it was useless. As he slipped into unconsciousness he whispered, "I'm sorry I failed you. I'm sorry…"_

Martha and Ceci turned to each other as they heard Clark speaking. "What is he saying?" Ceci asked as Martha bent over her semi-comatose son.

"He's saying that he's sorry over and over again. It sounds like he struggling to breathe. I've never seen him do this before and lips are turning blue."

"I'm going to increase his oxygen by getting a mask on him, Martha. Get Emil and Bernie. We're going to need their help to move him to the Watchtower if he gets any worse."

_**Lois' and Richard's home 12:30 am**_

"Mommy, Daddy, help me, help me! I don't want to hurt Daddy Clark. Make it stop, please." Lois, hearing her son, jumped out of bed fully awake and ran to his room. She turned on the light to find him crying and rocking. "I'm hurting him Mommy. I don't want to hurt him. I love him. He's my daddy. Help us Mommy please."

Lois cradled her son in her arms and carried him to her room. Richard was still out of town on the U.N. story. She wiped Jason's face and said, "It's okay baby; you had a nightmare, that's all. Nightmares can't hurt you."

"Nightmares can hurt you Mommy. Daddy Clark is suffering; he's hurting. I can see it and I need to help him."

Lois looked at him intently. She knew that his gifts were emerging and that her son and his birth father were inexorably connected, telepathically. She dialed Clark's home to find out how he was doing. "Hello, Martha. This is Lois. I'm sorry to call you so late at night but how is Clark doing?"

There was a long pause and Jason quickly took the telephone. "Grandma Martha, Daddy Clark can't breathe and the babies are upset. I can help them. Can I come over now?"

Before Martha could answer, Jason jumped off his mother's lap and raced to his room to put on his clothes. Lois told Martha that she would arrive at Clark's home in less than 30 minutes.

_**Watchtower, 1:00 am**_

Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Arrow, Aquaman and J'onn J'onzz gathered around the conference table discussing the events of the U.N.'s Superman ultimatum. Superman's chair was empty. They discussed Agent Thornton's team and their motivation. J'onn confirmed that each member of Thornton's team lost a close acquaintance or family member to Zod and his minions.

"So that explains their animosity toward Kryptonians," said J'onn as the team began to develop a plan. "They are committed to track down anyone with alien DNA."

"So that counts you out J'onn. We don't want to jeopardize your safety. You're too important to us." Wonder Woman was adamant in her argument. "These people would turn a lynch mob out on you and Kal-El. Both of you are the last of your people. If they can protect whales, why can't they protect extra-terrestrials?"

"Smile when you say that Wonder Woman," Aquaman retorted. "Whales are highly intelligent and gentle creatures. It's only right that you air-breathers protect them. You almost drove them to extinction."

Wonder Woman smirked at him. "That's my point; Kal-El is highly intelligent and gentle. Now they want to lock him in a cage with his children to sterilize them against their will because of the actions of the most evil criminals on Krypton."

Batman entered the conversation. "We know what is planned for our colleague. Right now he needs our protection. He is vulnerable as are his children. One of us must be with him at all times. I don't know if he's going to assume his Clark identity but even if his powers return, he'll still be at risk because of the abundance of Kryptonite."

"What do you suggest Batman?" asked the Flash as he shelled peanuts and popped them into his mouth at super speed.

"Clark is in his first day of the healing coma. It's been hard for him but Emil and Bernie believe that if he sleeps for two or three days, he should be recovered from the trauma of the births and the flogging at the Presentation rite. That means he should awaken just as the U.N.'s ultimatum expires."

Green Arrow added, "Knowing him, he'll want to defend himself against these accusations. If he wants to answer the ultimatum, we need to go with him for support."

"Then it's agreed. Wonder Woman will take tomorrow day 2 of his coma and Flash will take day 3. When he awakens, we'll meet at his house and update him on everything that's happened while he slept. Then we'll see what he wants to do."

"What if he decides that he'll answer the ultimatum?" asked Aquaman.

Batman replied, "J'onn and I have a plan to track him. I'll plant a GPS tracker on him so that we'll be able to follow him wherever he goes. More importantly, we need to convince the people of earth that he is not a threat to them. I'll purchase some air time and try to counter the negative reports about Superman with some positive archival footage of his activities. Let's do this people. A whole species is relying on our actions."

_**To be continued. Please, please review…**_

1. PETA means People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is a group in the United States that advocates for animal rights and encourages vegetarianism.

2. P1 is Watchtower code for the Daily Planet building.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N

Hello everyone. Welcome back to the "What Sacrifices" AU. I have received some excellent suggestions especially from JessieDog. Therefore, I have written her into the story. She is Sandy Bellevois, Pediatric Clinical Nurse Specialist for a large Children's Hospital in Victoria, Australia. I've decided that whenever I receive a great suggestion that is incorporated into the story, I will write that person into the story too.

The story is going to accelerate and will become very dark. I will warn you and rate that chapter as M for mature.

Acknowledgements:

Welcome to _**Aftermath of Anara **_and thank you for placing this fiction on your alert list. Thank you _**blackamethyst923 **_for making this fiction one of your favorites.

Disclaimers:

I don't receive any remuneration from Warner Brothers, DC Comics or any entity holding copyrights to the Superman franchise. Wish I did because I would set up college tuition funds for my grandchildren. I'm just having fun playing with their toys. Now, on with the story.

**Chapter 6**

_**Clark's home, early morning Day 2 of his healing coma**_

"Come on Mommy, we've got to get to Daddy Clark's house now. He really needs me!"

Lois hurriedly threw on some jeans, a sweat shirt and jacket. She then dressed Joanne in a baby bunting. "Okay Jason. Get Joanne's baby bag & head to the car." She quickly bundled her baby into a carrier and secured her restraints. Glancing at the clock, she saw it was 1:20 am. She wiped the sleep from her eyes and hurried down the stairs. Jason was in the car in the garage. They drove through the mostly empty Metropolis streets and headed toward the suburbs. The drive to Clark's home only took 20 minutes but Jason's behavior was clearly one of agitation. He was pre-occupied and twisted the shoulder strap on the baby's diaper bag until it started fraying. Tears ran down his face and he sniffled frequently. Lois was unsure if she should interrupt his thoughts and finally decided to try to distract him with a question. "So munchkin, when did you start calling Clark, Daddy Clark?"

Jason slowly turned his tear-stained face toward his mother, "Mr. Clark said I could call him Daddy Clark when we're together. He said that I must call him Mr. Clark when we're around other people. I guess I just forgot. Mommy, he thinks that when I get older, I won't love him anymore and the twins will hate him. We would never hurt him Mommy. We love him and we need him. He has so much to teach us. Sometimes, I think he's very sad but he tries not to show it to people. Besides, he's my father, why can't I call him Daddy?" Jason was totally serious as his gaze riveted on his mother.

Turning into Clark's driveway, Lois thought Jason was absolutely correct. He recognized the reality of his parentage. It was time for her to accept it and let the world know the same thing. She would talk to Clark and Richard about finally acknowledging Clark's paternity. The world would finally know that Clark Kent fathered Jason with her when they wrote the Niagara Falls exposé.

Jason waited patiently for an answer from her. "You know, you're right baby. He is your father and it's time we all recognized it. The three of us will talk about it when Daddy Richard gets home. Okay?"

Jason smiled broadly, "okay. I can hear Grandma Martha running to the door." Hurriedly, he climbed out the car and raced to the door which opened as he ran up the front steps. He leapt into her arms as they hugged each other. He told his grandmother that he would go straight downstairs to help is father. Martha waited at the door for Lois to traverse the width of the driveway with her baby.

"Thank you for letting us come by so late Martha. Jason was adamant that he could help Clark." She handed Joanne to the older woman so that she could remove her own jacket.

"It's okay dear," as she kissed Lois' cheek. "I would be eternally grateful if Jason could help him. He seems to be so tortured by anxiety and self-doubt despite being the most powerful being on the planet. Even as a young person, he worried more than necessary. I think Kryptonians were very tough on themselves because I know that Jonathan and I didn't place undue demands on him. He was a joy to raise but he was always afraid of his abilities." Martha placed Joanne on the sofa next to her to remove the baby's bunting. "Jonathan devoted so much time to working with Clark as each power emerged, just as Clark is now doing with Jason. With time he became confident in his ability to control his gifts."

"I think it's more fundamental," said Lois as she rose from the sofa to follow Martha to the basement room. "I think he fears failure in his ability to raise his children. And now things will be worse since these agents want to track down Superman. During the trip here, Jason referred to Clark as Daddy; it was important for him to acknowledge that Clark is his father. I totally agree with him. Richard knew I was pregnant when we met; I just had no memory that it was Clark's child. When Clark recovers, I want to correct that so that Clark can be officially recognized as Jason's father.

Martha looked at her with tears in her eyes as they reached the bottom steps to enter the playroom. "I think he would really like that Lois."

Jason had already arrived and spoke to Wonder Woman and Ceci. "So what is it you want to do Jason?" asked Ceci as she glanced at her comatose charge. He was now quiet wearing a non-rebreather mask at 13 liters of oxygen per minute. An oxygen concentrator whirled quietly next to his bed. He laid on his left side, oblivious to everything happening around him. The boy placed his diminutive hand on his father's face and closed his eyes. Clark stirred slightly and slowly raised a large hand to place it on his son's hand. Without breaking his connection to his father, Jason climbed onto the bed, curling up next to him. They both slept peacefully for the rest of the night.

_**Daily Planet Conference room, 8:00 am, Day 2 of Clark's Healing Coma**_

Agent Thornton strode angrily across conference room. "I thought I made it clear last night Mr. White. I wanted to have copies of those employee files for my review at 8:00 am. This isn't some misguided effort of yours to slow down this investigation."

Perry slowly exhaled thinking that these people were glorified pains in his ass. "Agent Thornton, you made your demands very late last night after HR closed for the evening. For security purposes, access to those files is limited to only two people who had requested to come in at 8:30 am for family reasons. They will be here shortly. In the meantime, my secretaries, Polly and Luanne will bring in some coffee and pastries for you and your team. Please make yourselves comfortable." Perry backed out the conference room closing the door behind him. He knew that the day would be very long. Walking down the hallway, he encountered Bruce Wayne in a side office with the employee files in front of him. Bruce had just completed his review.

Bruce looked up from the last file in front of him. "Everything looks to be in order Perry. We have completed and signed applications, references, W-9 and I-9 forms and disciplinary action forms. I didn't know you had so many complaints about Huntley.

"Yes about that Mr. Wayne. I talked to him several times and I thought he had finally changed his ways but when he grabbed Kent around the waist and picked him up, I realized that Huntley created a hostile work environment in the bullpen. He would have slammed the man against a desk or even the floor. It had to stop."

"I'm sure that Kent could take care of himself Perry," responded Bruce wryly.

"Of course he could but he's had a really tough time recently. He didn't need that added stress."

"I totally agree. The termination was the best way to deal with a bad situation. Now, when you're questioned by these people, what do you plan to say about Kent's absences?"

Perry looked at Bruce through veiled eyes. "Only what I know sir which is next to nothing. Clark's a great reporter but his private life is his own business. He produces incredible investigative stories especially with Lois Lane. His own stories always focus on rectifying some wrong. He's a complex person with a great deal of strength overlaying a sad, compassionate heart. That's exactly what I want in a good journalist."

Bruce looked back at Perry and said with a wry smile, "you're a very perceptive person Perry. You just keep doing what you're doing and this paper will reach new heights again. Bruce rose from his chair and had Perry call the Human Resources supervisor to deliver the records to Thornton and his team.

_**United Nations Headquarters, New York, NY at 2:21 pm**_

"Richard, I don't think we should stay here too much longer. Someone is bound to walk in and find us." Jimmy glanced out the door to make sure no one entered this suite of offices.

"Don't worry Jim; I'm almost done," as he finished with photographing documents he found on the U.S. Ambassador's desk. They disguised themselves as contract cleaners to gain access to the Ambassadorial offices. Just as quickly, they exited the offices with a borrowed cleaning cart in tow.

Just as they secreted the cleaning cart into a storage closet, they heard voices approaching their position. The hallway was bare without any objects that could hide them. They quickly pushed the cart out of the closet and hid inside of it, quietly closing and locking the door from the inside. The U.S. Ambassador talked to her executive secretary about an upcoming meeting.

"Madam Ambassador, you are scheduled to meet Mr. Skoros this evening. His private helicopter will land on the helipad at 7:30 pm. He expects to meet you, the Russian ambassador and the Secretary General with a generous donation to the United Nations for the services being provided to rectify the Kryptonian dilemma. His consortium indicated readiness to fund any efforts to contain and study the subjects. He wants to emphasize that the consortium desires to keep possession of any tissue samples and DNA from the subjects."

The ambassador turned on her heel. "You know I can't promise that. The Defense Department wants to keep and study him. They believe there is some way that his powers can be replicated and used by the military. The only person that can make the decision is POTUS (1). I will consult with him prior to making any decision."

The two stopped in front of the closet where Richard and Jimmy lay hidden, less than five feet the ambassador. The two held their breath in fear of being discovered.

"Ma'am, you _**are**_ aware that the U.N. expects generous monetary compensation for this operation. After all, the U.S. government suspended dues payment because of the poor economy. They lost 30% of their funding." Richard and Jimmy couldn't believe what they were hearing.

The ambassador had a quizzical expression on her face. "Martin, the maintenance crew is always careful to keep this area clean and neat. They wouldn't leave the cleaning cart outside of the storage closet." She placed her hand on the knob and turned it but the door was locked.

"Don't worry ma'am, I'll call the maintenance department and have it removed before Mr. Skoros arrives." They proceeded to her office with the door locking behind them. Richard and Jimmy sighed, quietly opened the door and exited down a service stairwell. They didn't dare speak until they exited the U.N. building.

"This story is far bigger and more dangerous than I ever expected Jimmy. I managed to record their conversation. We need to get back to Metropolis and strategize with Perry. The U.N. in collaboration with the U.S. government wants to capture Superman. If I heard right they plan to experiment on him to discover how his powers work. The U.N. looks at him as a cash cow to solve their money problems. We need to find out who's behind this consortium to put an end to this lynch mob.

Jimmy was in shock at what he both saw and heard out of the U.S. ambassador. "Richard, this is really bad for him. No one's seen or heard from Superman in months. We don't even know if he's still alive. Do you know if Lois has heard from him?"

Richard thought quickly before he spoke. "I'm sure she hasn't spoken to Superman." He thought to himself, she hasn't spoken to Superman but she talks to Clark all the time, we all do. He turned his attention back to his conversation with Jimmy. "I think we should try to contact him, maybe through the Justice League. After all, they were the last people to have contact with him.

"I agree. Not only that but I don't think it's safe out here. We better get back to Metropolis with this information," said Jimmy nervously.

"The next flight to Metropolis leaves LaGuardia Airport in six hours. Let's get our stuff together and get back to Metropolis with this information," said Richard. "This information will take down a lot of people."

_**Perry White's Office, 4:15 pm**_

"Mr. White, this interview will be brief and I'll occupy little of your time. Mr. Wayne assured your cooperation. "Why did Superman decide to give so many interviews and exclusive stories to the Planet?" asked Agent Thornton while settling into a chair across from Perry's.

"Because the Planet has a reputation for journalistic excellence. You know truth, justice, etc."

"Are you aware of Superman having a relationship with any of your staff members?"

"Just what are you insinuating Thornton? My staff have lives outside their work environment. What they do is their personal business."

"Even if it could mean that he created an abomination, Mr. White?"

"You're right about this being a short interview; in fact this interview has concluded Thornton. Take your crew and get out of my office," spat Perry turning his back on the agent.

_**Daily Planet Conference Room at 4:23 pm, Day 2 of Clark's healing coma**_

Mona Horn, pushed volumes of archival newspapers away from her and rubbed her eyes. She stood up and stretched her back while walking to the window. "Okay, so far we know that Lois Lane was hired by the Planet almost a year prior to K-man's arrival. His premiere action was to rescue her during the famous helicopter accident. After that incident, she became real chummy with him. Where was Clark Kent, Richard White and Brad Huntley at that time?

Elliott Von Nast tented his fingers under his chin. He responded, "White was still in the Air Force; his enlistment didn't end until he was hired by the Planet's international division. Huntley played football for the Metropolis Ravens. He was quite flamboyant at that time, lots of wine, women and song. Now where was Clark Kent? According to his record, he was hired the same week that K-man appeared. Coincidence? Possibly. Looking at the archives, Lane and Kent worked together almost immediately but Lane's name always headed up the 'by-line.'

Mona yawned deeply, "That would make sense if she was the senior writer in the group but how many men would be willing to remain second string to a woman? Kent seemed to be the passive team member while Lane was more aggressive. Somehow, I can't see K-man allowing a woman to push him around. He would be more the person to come into a company and take over. Things began to change for the Lane-Kent team around the time that Zod and his people arrived.

"What story were they covering?" asked Von Nast, cracking his knuckles.

"White assigned them to an exposé in Niagara Falls. Somehow Lane found herself alone flying back to Metropolis from an Air Force base near Anchorage, Alaska and Kent was nowhere to be found. When she returned to work, she was kidnapped by Zod," said Mona drily.

"You think she was raped by Zod?" Von Nast replied beginning to look interested.

"Or maybe raped by K-man. After all she was attracted to him. It seems that White wanted to give her a few days off after she returned to Metropolis. They thought she was suffering from PTSD but she suddenly recovered to write the exclusive story of how K-man defeated the Kryptonians at his fortress. Nine months later, she delivers a child," Mona said with increasing animation.

"She said that it was Richard White's child. Besides, I understand that he's a sickly kid. She used a lot of sick time while he was hospitalized with asthma and pneumonia," said Von Nast flipping through Lois' personnel file.

"It's still a lead that's worth following. Where are Lane and White now?" asked Mona, biting into a now stale pastry.

"I understand they got married a few weeks ago. They now have two children, a boy age eight and a girl a few months old," replied Von Nast.

Von Nast and Horn stared at each other. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking? K-man claimed that he left Earth to look for Krypton but we have no proof of that. What if he never left Earth but he's been here all along disguised as Richard White? That would keep him close to his child and his second child could have been delivered under the guise of Lois Lane being pregnant!" If Lane had an affair with K-man, it would make perfect sense to stay close to him for protection. They could both lie low and create the perfect picture of a happy family. Don't forget that K-man didn't resurface until Lane was almost killed in the space shuttle accident (2)." Maybe he never meant to resume his activities openly. After all, he could do a lot more secretly. No one would be on to him until it was too late." Von Nast was out of breath after he told Horn his theory.

"Where do Kent and Huntley fit in this theory?" asked Horn.

"Kent is nothing, a nobody. He was raised on a hick farm in Kansas. He stays home, reads books and travels around the world looking for himself. How lame can that be?" Von Nast sneered. "We're only interviewing Huntley because the Planet terminated his employment. We need someone who was on the inside, who's angry enough to want to spill the goods. Huntley fits that bill nicely. Since he's now unemployed and with his extravagant lifestyle, he'll jump at what Thornton will pay for information.

"Okay Nast, Let's call it a day, get Thornton and let him know about your theory and how you plan to test it.

_**Ten hours later, Clark's home on Day 3 of his healing coma**_

Martha curled up on her side in the guest room's bed. Lois and Joanne slept in Jason's room while Jason camped out in a sleeping bag next to his father's bed. Batman finished his rounds of Gotham City and stood watch at the Kent home. Everything was quiet so he pushed back his cowl to take a nap. Ceci tended to Clark but became concerned about his increasing temperature. He now had a fever of 108 degrees, far higher than any human could tolerate but could this be non lethal for a Kryptonian?

Clark drifted in and out of deep sleep with his nightmares taking on greater intensity. He saw his sons in their tumultuous teenage/young adult years. They again argued over their origins and its significance. Clark always feared that childhood sibling rivalry would devolve into adult resentment and mistrust.

"_What is wrong with the two of you? Why can't you stop this nonsense? When I was your age, I had work, school responsibilities and I still tried to help others." Clark wedged himself between the two warring young people. _

"_He's always telling me that I'm not really a Kryptonian, Dad," yelled Jason, his face red with rage. "I'm seven years older than he is. My powers are different from his but that doesn't make me any less your son! Beside, Kryptonite doesn't affect me like it does him!"_

_Jordan was just as angry as his brother. The 13 year old stood in front of his father and attempted to grab Jason while Clark restrained him. "He says that I have bad Kryptonian DNA & that I don't belong on this planet. He says that I was created because of an accident in the Fortress' programming. Karala and I are not accidents. We are thinking beings." _

_Clark stood his ground between the 20-year-old Jason and the 13-year-old Jordan. Karala walked in on the scene and rolled her eyes in disgust. "You two are at it again; give it a rest. Both of you are so juvenile." She tossed her blond hair as she floated over the threesome. _

_Clark was at his wits end. "I love all three of you equally. Each of you is different but you're special to me because of the differences. I was the last of my people until the three of you came into my life. I've had to hide you all of these years for your own protection. One day we'll be able to act openly for the good of mankind."_

"_Well, if your human bastard had his own way, you would only have one to worry about," smirked Karala._

"_What are you talking about Karala?" exclaimed Clark, still trying to separate his sons. What he was hearing was incredulous to him._

"_Why don't you ask him why he's storing Kryptonite in the barn's storm cellar Father? I'm sure he's not saving it for a rainy day. He wants to rid the world of the three of us. Open your eyes and see how evil Jason is; he wants to be the only super-powered being on Earth and you've closed your eyes to him because he's your oldest child."_

"_Jason… Jason, this isn't true. This can't be true. They're your brother and sister. You can't want to harm them."_

"_Can I? I'm not fully invulnerable but Kryptonite isn't my weakness. I'm stronger and faster than most humans but still weaker than my brother and sister. My telepathic powers are stronger than theirs. It's called survival of the fittest Dad," Jason replied. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the sample of pure Kryptonite wrapped in lead shielding. "None of you listen to me with your Kryptonian airs. This is to keep the playing field level._

_Jordan and Karala leveled their eyes at Jason. Both were furious at him and their father indirectly. This was the show down they knew was inevitable. Clark knew that Jason was no match for the twins. Where and why did everything go so terribly wrong? It couldn't end like this; he wouldn't let it end like this. He must protect them from themselves he must stop the madness before they truly became the last Kryptonians. Karala let loose her heat vision simultaneously with Jordan. The blast hit Clark full in the chest. He screamed in pain as if he was on fire but he continued to shield Jason. Jason in turn directed his telepathic abilities on his siblings, determined to make them suffer mentally. The intensity of the wave of psychic pain washed over Clark and his two younger children. Never had he felt such despair or rage in any person. Was this what Jason hid from him?_

"_Stop it!" Clark begged of his three children, aware that this argument would end badly for the last four Kryptonians. "This was how Krypton destroyed itself. Don't let this be our end too." The air around his aura was now superheated. He knew he wouldn't last long. The lead shielding on the Kryptonite melted away from the heat and the house had now ignited. The heat intensified. Jason's mental assault weakened; his aura spent as he ignited and burned. Karala and Jordan collapsed clutching their heads in pain under Jason's last mental assault. _

"_No, no it can't end this way," screamed Clark as the burning house gave way around them. No, God please, not like this."_

Ceci ran up the stairs to awaken her Martha. Bursting into the room, she shook Martha violently. "Martha, Martha! Wake up. I need your help. Something's happening to Clark and the children."

Martha wiped the sleep out of her eyes. "What.. What time is it?" she asked sleepily.

"It's 2:40 am but something is happening to Clark and the children. They're screaming as if in pain and he's running a high fever. It's so high, it's off the charts for humans. I don't know if it's normal for Kryptonians."

Martha jumped out of bed and didn't even bother to put on her slippers. Both women ran down the stairs to the converted med bay. The Batman was at Clark's side trying to restrain him. "I can't handle him. I think his strength is returning. Right now, he's so hot, I can barely touch him."

"Martha, we need to get some wet towels and try to cool him down, at least enough to touch him," exclaimed Ceci. They pulled put towels and sheets determined to cool him down quickly. They soaked the linens using a garden hose and trailed water into the house to wrap up their charge. Clark was now sitting on the edge of the bed screaming, 'no' repeatedly.

They wrapped him in the wet bedding which reduced his fever somewhat. Jason awoke and looked at his father intently. "Grandma Martha, I know what to do." He scrambled onto the bed and stood directly behind his father. He placed his small hands on either side of his father's forehead and grimaced in pain. Clark's radiated heat burned his son's hands but Jason wouldn't let go.

"Jason, don't," screamed Martha as vapor rose from her grandson's hands. Steam rose from the wet bedding as Clark's body dissipated solar energy but gradually, with Jason's help, he calmed down. The twins' intense crying decreased to a whimper and Lois arrived in the basement carrying Joanne. As she arrived, Clark and Jason collapsed into a heap across the bed. Clark was now wide awake.

"Oh God, Jason, son, what have I done to you?" as he looked at the boy's hands. Ceci examined Jason's hands closely.

"He has deep second degree burns. We need to get some moist towels on his hands." Batman responded by taking a wet towel off Clark who had cooled down, moistening it with the garden hose and wrapping the boy's hands.

"Tell me what you need Ceci. I'll have the League get it to you." He immediately activated his JLA communicator and took Ceci aside. Lois, Clark and Martha gathered around the injured child.

"I'm okay Daddy Clark. Don't worry; it only hurts a little bit," said Jason meekly trying to hide his hands.

"Jason, what you did took a lot of courage. How did you know what to do?" responded Clark weakly.

"I knew you were having a horrible nightmare and that I could stop it if I told you that Jordan, Karala and I loved you very much. But when I told you with my mind, you couldn't hear me. I heard Grandma Lara in my head and she said she would make me stronger so that I could help you. She gave me an image of her, Grandma Martha, Grandpa Jor-El, Grandpa Jonathan, Grandpa Ben, Mommy, Daddy Richard and all my raodetrid and raomutrod. They are all the people who love and care for you. We all held hands and just concentrated to bring you back home.

"You talked to Grandma Lara son?"

"Huh huh. She said you were too strong to hear her but I was just right!" he smiled impishly. "She wanted me to tell you something, Daddy Clark." Jason closed his eyes and said in a small voice. "Kal-El, those who know and love you are never far away. Reach across time and space with your mind to touch us."

Just then, Batman and Ceci returned to the group. "Ceci needs a dressing material called Fixomull which is not available in the United States yet, but she has a contact in Victoria, Australia who will make it available to us. We're sending the Flash who's on duty at the Watchtower.

_**Victoria, Australia, 6:00 pm local time**_

Sandy Bellevois, Pediatric Clinical Nurse Specialist, sat in her office at the end of a long day. She had tons of documentation to complete before going home to her husband and family. She sipped a cup of tea and sighed. Suddenly the telephone rang. "Sandy Bellevois speaking" as she pushed back her brown tresses. "Hi Ceci, fancy talking to you. Good Lord, I'm 15 hours ahead of you. What time is it in Metropolis?"

"Hi to you too, Sandy. It's 3:00 am here. Sorry to bother you but I have a tremendous need for that product, Fixomull, that we saw at the burn conference a few months back."

"Ouchie that is good stuff for kids with burns. It's the only dressing product we'll use on second and third degree burns. It doesn't need to be changed frequently so you don't disturb the healing wound bed. I'll put together a package for you and mail it by Fed-Ex Express.

"That's great Sandy but you don't need to Fed-Ex it. I have a courier on the way to pick it up. He should be there any second now."

Just them, she heard a knock at the door. Sandy looked at the telephone then looked at the door. She got up and opened her office door. There, in all of his bright red and yellow glory stood the Flash.

"Hello, are you Mrs. Sandy Bellevois? I'm the…

"The Flash? The Flash! She pulled her thoughts together and realized she still had an open line to Ceci. "Ceci, the Flash is standing at my door."

Ceci laughed, "Yes Sandy. The Flash is the courier. The Justice League is helping me with a mission of mercy for a child with burns."

"Well maybe one of these days you'll tell me the story behind what you have gotten into. Wheee, I'd better get that package together because I know you're in a hurry Mr. Flash. I'll talk to you again sometime soon Ceci. I'm sure this encounter has a great story behind it. Bye Ceci."

"Bye and thanks Sandy, you're the best." Ceci closed the telephone line to Sandy and said, "If she only knew."

_**To be continued … Please review**_

(1) POTUS is the President of the United States.

(2) Initial plot of Superman Returns.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Welcome, everyone to the "What Sacrifices" AU. This is the latest installment of the Last Great House of Krypton. I have received so many great suggestions. Therefore, I want to thank _**Afred**_ for hours of stimulating emails which have helped me to focus on plot and character construction. Afred will be written into the fiction as a young photographer working with Jimmy Olsen. Look out for him in a future chapter.

Chapter will be very dark so I'm writing it very carefully. It will carry a rating of "M" for mature readers. You are duly warned.

Disclaimers:

As usual, I'm only borrowing toys from Warner Brothers, DC Comics or any entity holding copyrights to the Superman franchise. I don't receive any money for my writing. I'm just having fun and sharing it with some special friends who choose to read. Now, on with the story.

Chapter 7

_**Clark Kent's home, one hour after his healing coma ended**_

Batman helped Clark sit up straight in bed. "Welcome back Boy Scout. You had us worried there for a moment." Clark's skin quickly cooled enough that he could be touched safely. His hospital gown was saturated from Batman's, Martha's and Ceci's attempts to reduce his temperature. They did likewise to the twins who now cried to be fed. He sat on the edge of his bed with his head in his hands. His IV looped around his left arm and his catheter hung discretely from the bed frame. He had a lingering headache indicating that his enhanced hearing had returned. Not only that but his mouth felt like cotton. His mother gave him glass of water and she occupied herself with caring for the babies. "My goodness Clark, when your body got so hot, the twins experienced the same thing. Their little bodies left scorch marks on the sheets.

"How are they Mom? Are they okay? Did they give you any problems while I slept?" Clark asked as he tried to extricate himself from the IV tubing. He tried to stand up but realized he was still attached to the bed by his catheter. His eyes were itchy, a sure sign that his vision powers had returned.

"They look okay to me son. We pumped your milk while you slept. I think we have two bottles left to give them. But, you need to talk to your friends," she said while averting her eyes. Ceci glanced at the two of them while she applied the Fixomull to Jason's hands.

"Oookay, Mom! By the way Ceci, when you're finished working on Jason's hands would you please free me from your catheter and this IV. They're becoming real itchy and I think they're about the fall out."

Ceci looked at her patient and shook her head. "Clark, unless your powers have returned, I don't think it's going to fall out."

"Okay, but see? It's coming out by itself. Clark showed her his forearm and she watched as his healing skin slowly pushed the foreign object out of his vein.

"Good Lord, I wouldn't believe it if I didn't see it with my own eyes. Let me get a syringe and remove the catheter before you pop it out." She quickly checked her supplies and located the dry sterile syringe. Attaching it to the restraining balloon's port, she withdrew the 10 ml of sterile water keeping his catheter in place. "Okay now take a deep breath & I'll withdraw it."

"Too late," Clark sighed as the catheter popped out of its own accord. "Sorry, I couldn't help that."

Ceci rolled her eyes. "Yea, I know you have a super bladder too." She gathered her equipment to discard it. Clark quickly jumped out of bed and just as quickly held on to the over-bed table because of sudden dizziness.

"Wow Boy Scout. Do you or don't you have your powers back?" asked the Batman who steadied Clark who was about to fall. Clark took deep breaths to overcome a sudden wave of nausea.

Ceci turned back to Clark and guided him back to the edge of the bed. "That was orthostatic hypotension (1) if I've ever seen it. Do Kryptonians have that problem like humans do?"

"I don't think so Ceci but some of my powers have returned. I feel stronger and my invulnerability is returning but I better take it slow."

Martha turned to Clark with Karala who was wailing loudly. "I'm sorry son; she drank the bottle but she's still hungry. Jordan seems to be satisfied at the moment.

He smiled faintly. "She knows the milk spigot is back on line and she knows how to make her needs known. Hi Little Miss, Daddy's back and you're ready aren't you?" He took his two month old baby girl and she promptly turned her head to root to his breast. Clark looked up and smiled. "She has a ravenous appetite for a two-month old." Jason stood with his grandmother, begging to allow him to hold Jordan. They sat him in Clark's favorite rocking chair with pillows under both elbows and a table in front of him in case his arms got tired. "Jason, how do your hands feel?"

"They feel good now since Miss Ceci put that stuff on them." He grinned the broad smile of a happy little boy caring for a younger brother.

"I hate to intrude on this scene of domestic bliss but we have a lot to talk about NOW. He looked toward Ceci, Martha and Lois.

"I think that's our notice to leave the men to talk alone. Are you coming with us Jason?" Martha asked.

"No Grandma Martha. I want to stay with the men down here."

"Not this time Sport. Batman looks really serious. Please take Jordan with your Mommy, Grandma and Ceci. And don't listen with your super-hearing. I'll know."

"Okay Daddy Clark." Martha returned and took the sleeping baby boy out of his brother's arms. Lois spoke up for the first time. "Guess what munchkin? You're going to work with me today. Ceci says no school until the dressings come off and guess what? Daddy Richard is back from New York City with Jimmy. I'm sure that they'll be glad to see you." Their voices trailed off as they climbed the steps from the basement to the main floor of Clark's home.

"It looks like I'm in real trouble this time," Clark sighed. Karala had fallen asleep at his breast again and was securely latched. He got ready to unlatch her.

"Wait Boy Scout, did you wash your hands since you woke up?

"What?" Clark looked confused at the Batman.

"Did you wash your hands? Ceci almost killed me for using hand cleanser to clean my hands before I unlatched her from you three days ago. That little tyrant told me to wash my hands or don't touch HER babies. I'm telling you the same thing to protect you, my niece and nephew.

"If you say so Darth. Go wash your hands." Batman pushed back his cowl, removed his gauntlets and carefully washed his hands. "She told me to sing Happy Birthday to myself to count off 15 seconds and she replaced all the soap in the house with anti-bacterial soap. Can you see me singing Happy Birthday? S***, that woman is tough and I can't intimidate her. Makes me feel like I'm losing my grip." He returned to Clark and the baby while carefully drying his hands. "Now I'll just use my pinkie to break her suction and voila, she's detached." Karala popped loose and smacked her tiny lips as she snuggled into her father's arms.

"You're a real problem solver but you look like a man with a lot on his mind Bruce. What's happened since I fell asleep?" Bruce sat slowly across from his friend and explained all the events that had occurred over the previous three days. Clark looked incredulously at him; he couldn't believe that the U.N. wanted him to present himself for involuntary custody because of the activities of the Kryptonian renegades.

"They want to know if you have ever fathered children with human women." Clark looked down sheepishly. "They don't know about Jason but those agents suspect that Lois might have had a tryst with you as Superman. They're putting two and two together."

"When am I supposed to present myself to the U.N.?"

"It's 8:30 am now. You're supposed to be there at 12:00 noon." Bruce stated while taking the sleeping Karala into his arms.

"I need to go there and try to exonerate myself." Clark walked to the basement kitchen area to get another glass of water.

The Raohim figured you would want to do that so some of us will accompany you. Wonder Woman, Flash, J'onn J'onzz and I will be the honor guard to you, the Chancellor of Krypton. Maybe you can wear that crown-thing the Lara AI gave you.

Clark laughed. He knew Bruce tried to lift his spirits. "I'm not turning my children over to the U.N. They must never know of their existence. "

"You're right. The children would never have a normal life if anyone knew of their existence. We need to think up an excuse to deflect interest in your pregnancy. Don't forget this is the first time you'll be back as Superman since the incident with the meta-human almost five months ago.

Clark paced across the floor in a bathrobe and slippers. "I almost lost those two and fought to hold on to my own life during that time. I'll tell them that I miscarried. My child was stillborn when I was transported to Watchtower. I've spent my time mourning and recuperating. I can say my child's body was buried in a capsule in space."

"Okay, let's go with that but we still need to get to the Daily Planet and deal with the Agents. You and Lois are to be interviewed today about that Niagara Falls exposé."

"Geez, those people are thorough if nothing else. I'll get ready for work and meet you there in about an hour." Clark climbed the stairs carrying Karala. Bruce followed close behind.

Lois had already left Clark's house with Joanne and Jason. They stopped at home long enough to shower and change clothes before going to the Planet. She dreaded talking to the Agents but she was going to be totally honest with them. It was no one's business who she chose to screw. She thought that she might soften her rhetoric a little bit. She would not be confrontational unless someone got in her face or threatened her children. She hoped Clark would do likewise. At least she knew that Richard and Jimmy were safe and would meet her at the office.

_**Daily Planet's Conference Room – 10:30 AM**_

Agent Thornton burst into Perry's office unannounced while Perry spoke to his publisher by telephone. Sucking his teeth he told Bruce Wayne that he would call back after dealing with the agents.

"White, what type of operation do you run here if you can't rely on your people arriving at work on time?" Agent Thornton asked testily.

"I trust my people's judgment which is more than I can say about you and your team Thornton. Now go back to the conference room and don't ever enter this office unannounced again. Get out!" He returned to proofing an article without looking up at Thornton again.

Thornton turned on his heel and marched out the door as Richard arrived to speak to his uncle.

"Did I catch you at a bad time Perry?" He asked barely sticking his head in the door.

Perry looked up and smiled slyly. "I have time for you son. I just can't tolerate those agents. They have the place turned upside down. They plan to interview you, Lois and Clark. Then I hope they'll get the hell out of here."

"Then you'll want to hear about the U.N. connection." He told Perry about the overheard conversation.

"Clark is expected to return to work today. I don't know if he's aware of anything going on over the past three days." Perry tapped the desk with a pencil. "Go and occupy those nuts for a few minutes. I'll look out for him and let him know what's going on."

Richard got up to leave as he saw Lois and Jason enter the bull pen. Clark followed at a discrete distance, tripping over trash cans as he walked between the closely placed desks. Jason took the lead. "Daddy, I'm so glad to see you," as he ran into Richard's open arms.

"I'm glad to see you too, munchkin. Wow, what happened to you?" He examined Jason's bandaged hands.

"It's a long story," said Lois as she gave him a kiss. Clark just averted his eyes.

"Hi Richard, welcome home," said Clark extending his hand with a shy smile. Richard smiled in return and took it firmly.

"It's good to be back. I'm supposed to go talk to those people." He said surreptitiously to Clark. "Don't worry but I need to talk to you after we're finished with them." Clark just nodded affirmatively.

Perry motioned to Clark to come into his office. Lois threw herself into a conference room chair while Jason sat at Clark's desk drawing pictures. Richard pulled himself together to join Lois in the interview.

Mona Horn initiated the discussion. "Thank you for coming to this interview, Mr. and Mrs. White. Lois quickly interrupted. "We're being forced into this interview Agent." Richard touched her arm and she stopped immediately.

"Ms. Horn, what is this about? We both have work responsibilities waiting for us."

"I will be brief then Mr. White. I understand Mrs. White that you and Clark Kent are partners?

"Yes, you state the obvious. The Planet advertises our stories all over town."

"I want to ask you about one of your stories, the Niagara Falls exposé?" Just then, Clark entered the conference room and stumbled to a chair while pushing his glasses up on his nose. "I'm glad that you could join us Mr. Kent. This pertains to you too."

Lois took a deep breath, stiffening her back. "What do you want to know?"

"How did you manage to get from Niagara Falls, New York with Mr. Kent to Anchorage, Alaska alone?" Mona leaned back in her chair and all eyes were on Lois.

"That's none of your goddamn business."

"Mrs. White, we're just trying to figure out if you might have been one of the Kryptonians' unwitting victims. You're aware that Zod and his people raped and murdered hundreds of people. The renegades are now dead but the last Kryptonian, Superman, is still alive and among us. We're asking if you might have been raped by Zod or Superman because your son was born nearly nine months after the battle in the Fortress."

Clark went pale and snapped the point off his pencil. All eyes turned to him. Clearing his throat, he muttered, "sorry."

Lois slowly stood up from the conference room table and looked sadly at Clark. He looked like he wanted to sink through his chair. Richard sat straight up awaiting an answer. She walked slowly around the table with her arms crossed.

"Clark and I went to Niagara Falls disguised as newlyweds to expose how young couples were being ripped off. I fell off an observation deck into the river and Clark jumped in to rescue me. He can't even swim so I wound up rescuing him. We returned to our suite and changed out of our wet clothes next to a roaring fire place in the middle of July. I opened a bottle of champagne to loosen him up. I RAPED him. He was a virgin, a big naive virgin farm boy. So I enjoyed it even more. I taught him everything for three beautiful days and nights. Jason is Clark Kent's son conceived when I raped my partner. Are you satisfied now or do you want all the details?" Lois spun Mona's chair around and slapped her across the face with all of her strength. "Now stay out of my fu***** business."

Clark laid his head on the conference room table in shock. Richard jumped up quickly and hurried Lois out of the room. He hissed sternly at the agents while directing an irate Mad-Dog Lane out the conference room, "this interview is over Agent Thornton. I hope you're satisfied."

Horn, rubbing her face, Von Nast, and Thornton looked at a thoroughly embarrassed and humiliated Clark Kent sitting numbly in the conference room with his hands folded on the table. "You're excused Mr. Kent."

_**Daily Planet Roof – 11:40 am**_

Clark and Bruce met on the roof to arrange transport to Watchtower. "Clark you really know how to create a stir," said Bruce smiling at his friend.

"It wasn't me Bruce. It was Lois. You know how impulsive she can be. She, Richard and I planned to recognize my paternity but I never expected it to be like this. I think it's now front page that I'm Jason White's father.

"Well, that's the least of your problems right now." He activated his Watchtower communicator. "Watchtower, two for transport."

Watchtower responded, "Transporting Traveler B and Traveler S in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1." An intense glow formed around the two men and within a few short seconds, they materialized on the Watchtower's teleportation platform.

A strong female voice called out to them as they materialized on the space station. "Gentlemen, we're cutting this short. We have 15 minutes to get to the U.N."

"Hi Diana, we're glad to see you too," said Bruce sarcastically.

"Come on Bruce, you're the stickler on punctuality. Hi Clark, it's good to see you up. Are you okay?" Diana looked from Bruce to Clark and back again.

"He's okay Diana. He was just outted in the middle of the Daily Planet bull pen as being Jason's father. I think he's still in shock."

"Clark, please pull yourself together. You need to defend yourself at the U.N. in less than 15 minutes," Diana pleaded while directing him to the elevator banks.

He shook his head as if he was just awakening. "I'm sorry Diana. I guess I'm still in shock over how quickly everything occurred. Just then the Flash appeared.

"Clark, hurry up! J'onn and I will meet you at the platform." Diana left Clark at his quarters to return to the platform. As she returned, the Batman hurried to the platform while putting on his cowl and gauntlets. He whispered to Diana, "everything is in place" and she nodded once affirmatively.

A few minutes later Clark arrived attired in a new uniform. Based roughly on the armor worn by Batman, the most significant difference was that it looked like a sculpted speedo with a longer cape; and no outer brief. He wore the sparkling golden diadem on his brow. No one said anything but everyone eyed him from head to foot.

"What?" Clark said as he mounted the platform. "Do I have something on my face?"

"Ah, nothing Kal. You look fully recovered." Diana responded softly.

The Flash rubbing his hands together exclaimed gleefully, "Let's get this show on the road." The other four heroes mounted platform and were teleported to the plaza in front of the U.N. building.

_**United Nations Plaza**_

The clock read 11:59 am. A large crowd of press and bystanders opened a wide space for the heroes to enter the U.N. building. Wonder Woman walked on his left front while Batman walked on his right front. J'onn J'onzz and the Flash followed Clark on his left and right. Clark in his Kryptonian persona of Kal-El son of Jor-El strode regally in the center of his honor guard.

Entering the General Assembly hall, they walked down the center aisle to scattered whispers of on lookers. The group stopped in front of the central dais where the Secretary General waited.

"Superman you are punctual. Thank you for coming."

"Sir, I have come as requested using my birth name. I am Kal-El, son of Jor-El, the titular Chancellor, and head of the last great house of Krypton. Why am I here today?

"Your presence was requested Kal-El, not the Justice League. Batman stepped forward. "Kal-El is here as a head of state. He is the last living member of his species and he will be accorded the respect of any head of state."

The Secretary General frowned, "what about your pregnancy? The world wanted to know about your pregnancy's outcome."

All eyes riveted on Kal-El. He answered quietly, "My child did not survive and was stillborn. I am the last of my people."

"More reason for you to remain in protective custody. You are precious and should not subject yourself to dangerous situations in the future."

"I am a sentient being capable of choosing my activities; I have done nothing wrong Mr. Secretary and I will not be imprisoned."

The Secretary nodded his head and Kryptonite was unshielded from every corner of the Hall. Kal-El dropped to his knees in severe pain, losing consciousness. The JLA members immediately went into action. J'onn J'onzz morphed into a snarling lion keeping onlookers at a distance. Green Lantern was teleported from the Watchtower and he immediately set up a protective barrier around Kal-El and Batman. The Flash ran in a circular fashion around the group creating a vortex that deflected bullets, both normal and Kryptonite laden. Wonder Woman used her lasso to capture the Secretary General. When Batman saw that everyone was in place, he signaled the Watchtower to teleport them all back to the station. In a second, the Hall emptied of all activity.

Thornton watched the televised events and cursed loudly. His prey slipped through the trap. He would need to go to Plan B.

_**To be continued … Please, please review**_

(1) Orthostatic hypotension is a sudden drop in blood pressure when changing position. The drop can precipitate fainting, nausea and vomiting.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Hi everyone. Welcome to Chapter 8 of _**The Last Great House of Krypton,**_ the second entry in the "What Sacrifices" alternate universe. The story will become darker at this point but I've tried to decrease some of the darkness by adding levity at times. Thank you for all of the terrific suggestions especially from _**Afred**_. Because of all of his hard work, Afred has a cameo appearance as Alfredo Lopez, a college intern working with Jimmy Olsen. At some point Alfredo and Jimmy will have their own adventure. I am rating this chapter "M" because of violence and sexual suggestion.

Acknowledgements:

Please welcome _**Beckster2.0**_, a new reader of fanfiction and who is now following the "What Sacrifices" AU. She has a special place in my heart.

Disclaimers:

I'm only playing with the toys from Warner Brothers and DC Comics. Wish I was getting some of the money from their advanced sales for _**Man of**_** Steel** but I don't receive anything for my writing. I'm just having fun and sharing it with some special friends who choose to read. Now, on with the story.

Chapter 8

_**Daily Planet Bull Pen**_

Lois stood before a Vizio® TV monitor watching the events occurring at the U.N. building in New York City. A hush permeated the bull pen as the Planet's staff collectively held their breath. This was the first time Superman appeared in public in the past five months. Several women noted that he looked thinner from weight loss. They also regretted his report that his child was stillborn. It only intensified their sadness that he was truly the last of his race. Pandemonium erupted when the U.N. attacked Superman to try to capture him.

"Yeah, the Justice League came through and protected him," Jimmy Olsen exclaimed to Alfredo Lopez, the college intern working with him. "Nothing's worse than being innocent of a crime and being judged as guilty without so much as a trial. That amount of Kryptonite would not only have incapacitated him but might have killed him."

"You're right Jimmy exclaimed Perry who stood behind the crowd. As he spoke Thornton, Horn and Von Nast exited the conference room.

Thornton whispered to his group, "where's Richard White? He was here a minute ago. They quickly scanned the bull pen but Richard was not among the crowd. The trio looked toward a nearby TV monitor where the JLA had just rescued Kal-El from the U.N.

"I'll bet that he slipped away to meet with the Justice League before going to the U.N. He'll reappear with a lame excuse for his idiot co-workers," Mona replied, still rubbing her jaw. "He's got to have some special powers to control the crazy woman that he married. She's on a trip wire."

They walked quietly to the elevators, formulating their next move. Von Nast noted as they entered the elevator, "the Consortium thought this plan would make short shrift of the job. They paid a lot of money for it to fail so miserably."

They halted further conversation until they reached their vehicle. Thornton decided to recap the facts up to that point. "Okay let's review what we have so far. The Consortium paid off a lot of people in the U.N. to set up a trap for K-man.1

Von Nast interrupted, "the plan was not to kill K-man, only incapacitate him for capture. But if Kryptonite bullets were being used, there was a plan to kill him. Mona chimed in "we certainly can't use the U.N. again. K-man and the League are on to us." Mona squeezed a cold pack to mix the pellets with the activating reagent. She located the pack in their emergency medical kit and gingerly applied it to her face.

Thornton stretched his neck from side to side. "I have an appointment with Huntley then we meet with the Consortium in two hours." They pulled out of the Daily Planet's basement garage and disappeared into Metropolis' downtown traffic.

_**Watchtower Observation Deck**_

Kal-El and the JLA honor guard materialized on the teleportation platform amidst a hurricane of dirt, gas and bullets. Aware that Kal was exposed to significant amounts of Kryptonite, his comrades dragged him off the platform and brushed debris away from him body. The Secretary General stood at a safe distance under guard by Green Lantern and Green Arrow. "He better survive Mr. Secretary General," sneered Green Arrow, "or you personally will pay the price. I promise you! Meanwhile we'll make you comfortable in our brig." They led him away to a comfortable room with sanitary and dining facilities but no way that he would be freed to walk about the satellite.

"You people can't do this to me. I'm the Secretary General of the U.N. You have just made yourselves enemies of most of the nations on this planet.

Green Lantern turned slowly to the Secretary General. "With all due respect, sir, I don't care. Superman spearheaded movements to bring peace and end starvation on this planet. You would be an impotent organization if it wasn't for him. And how do you repay him? You try to kill him. I think that makes us about even. We prepared and left meals for you in your dinette area. You have a television, radio and internal communications. If you desire, you can control the temperature and humidity in your quarters. You just cannot leave. Wonder Woman will conduct questioning after she is sure that Superman's condition is stable. Make yourself comfortable Mr. Secretary General and by the way, welcome to Watchtower." Green Lantern turned away from the Secretary General and activated an opaque force shield closing off the Brig area. He then hurried back to the observation deck to assist his friends with Kal-El.

Kal coughed uncontrollably while clutching his chest. The U.N. trap included Kryptonite gas along with solid minerals. The Batman looked for the Flash to get an oxygen tank but Flash arrived with the tank before it was requested. "I thought you might need this," he said grimly as an oxygen mask was placed over Kal's face. Kal responded anxiously attempting to remove it.

He gasped, "I…I ca…can't breathe. L…lungs bu…burning." Wonder Woman pushed his hands away.

"Kal, listen to me. We're all here; you're going to be alright. Just breathe slowly; deep breaths. He calmed down but still took short shallow breaths while his lips began to take on a bluish tinge.

"Diana, he's in bronchospasm. He can't get enough oxygen. We need to get the ultrasonic nebulizer with Duonebs®2," said J'onn J'onzz excitedly. "Flash, get the nebulizer and a box that says Duonebs®. We need Kal to sit up as high as he can tolerate." Flash returned in less than five seconds. Batman pulled off his friend's costume top to lessen respiratory constriction. J'onn poured 3 ml of Duonebs into the medication reservoir and attached the oxygen tubing. Diana held the nebulizer mask over Kal's face while reassuring him that the medication would help his breathing. Within a few minutes, Kal's breathing improved sufficiently so that he could be moved to the med bay.

Batman and Wonder Woman stood outside the Med Bay and observed J'onn and Flash ministering to Kal. "That was close Bruce. Those people were playing for keeps. I don't think they want to capture him; they're trying to execute him. We can guard him 24/7 but that would limit his life and ours. I know he would never agree to that. So far, no one suspects that he lives an ordinary life. I think it's time that we talk to him about giving up his Superman persona and remain as Clark. After all, he is responsible for a family now that can't survive without him.

"Good luck Diana. **You** try and talk him out of being him. He has a strong sense of right and wrong. Knowing him, he'll return to the U.N. to try to exonerate himself. I can't blame him. He's given so much to this planet. This is his home. He tried to leave before to no avail. Where would he go? I don't know about anyone else but I'll be by his side until the end. I owe him that much.

"As do I. I won't abandon him. I just want him to think about his children. They need him now more than the world does." The two League members glanced into the med bay to see Clark dozing fitfully with a nasal cannula in place. They walked away and never heard him whisper, "Thanks guys."

A few minutes later, Wonder Woman and Batman arrived at the Brig to interrogate the Secretary General. He paced the Brig like a caged animal. "I demand that you release me."

Batman released the force shield to allow entry into the Brig. "I trust that you are enjoying the accommodations Mr. Secretary General. We just want to ask you a few questions."

"I have nothing to say to kidnappers."

Wonder Woman responded, "Your people attempted to kill the titular Chancellor and head of the last great house of Krypton. I would call you an attempted murderer. We can trade insults or finally resolve this issue. Sit down."

"And if I refuse?"

"We can do this the easy way or the hard way. You can tell us all you know voluntarily or I'll extract it with the Golden Lasso."

The Secretary General knew of the fabulous Golden Lasso of Themyscira. No one could resist any question or demand while under its influence. All he could imagine was fighting off intense pain as the information was extracted. He had heard that the Amazons were fierce warriors. "Do whatever you need to do; I'm not going to tell you anything."

Wonder Woman sighed. Unfastening the lasso from her belt, she wrapped one loop loosely around his right wrist. The Secretary General closed his eyes tightly expecting searing, burning intense pain. What he felt was a soothing tingle that started in his wrist.

"Now tell me everything about the plan to capture or kill Superman."

The Secretary General suddenly felt compelled to tell everything he knew. As he talked truthfully, the tingle intensified to spread from his wrist through his chest, abdomen and pelvis. His breathing increased and he felt that he would explode with euphoria.

Five minutes later Wonder Woman said, "thank you very much Mr. Secretary General." She removed the lasso from his wrist and ushered Batman out the door. As the force shield went up, they could hear the Secretary General yelling and making rhythmic grunting noises.

"Is he doing what I think he's doing?" Batman asked while looking back at the Brig.

Wonder Woman smiled coyly. "We Amazons have a reputation for being the world's greatest warriors. How do you think we conquer so easily? All I did was tap into his deepest desires and give him what he wanted. Every time he answered correctly, I mentally reinforced the reward. In man's world, it called classical conditioning as developed by one Ivan Pavlov and his dog in 1903. We developed it to a fine art thousands of years before you did. Please make sure he has clean underwear before we take him home and he won't have any memory of anything that occurred here."

Batman stopped short and watched her saunter down the corridor. She called back to him "see, I didn't even have to touch him." He turned and went to get a cup of coffee while laughing to himself.

_**The Ace O' Clubs Tavern, Metropolis**_

Thornton sat in a dark corner of the tavern awaiting his contact. It was still early in the day so few patrons milled in or out of the establishment. He didn't wait long before the object of his anticipation arrived. Huntley was disheveled, not having shaved since his termination from the Planet. He smelled of perspiration and stale beer.

Sliding into the seat across from Thornton, he pulled out a cigarette and looked for a match. Thornton provided him with a light and waited. "I got your message, Thornton. What do you want from me?

"Information" responded Thornton turning his head away from the cigarette smoke. "You were on the inside of the Planet. Tell me about the players."

"My information comes at a price," was Huntley's response.

Thornton reached into his jacket pocket and placed five monetary bills in denominations from $500.00 to $100,000.00 American on the table in front of him. Huntley immediately reached for the $100,000.00 bill but Thornton stopped him.

"I'll determine if your information is worth the price. Tell me about Lois and Richard White and Clark Kent." The pair spent the next 45 minutes discussing the rumors and scandals of the Planet. He made a point of telling the agent about how Clark and Lois became distant when he returned to Metropolis after the Niagara Falls story. After that he resigned and disappeared for five years. Thornton relayed the events of that very morning with Lois admitting that Clark Kent was the father of her child.

"Ha, I didn't know he had it in him. I can see Lane hiding his glasses and making him look for them in her every nook and cranny. That woman is worse than a mad dog in heat and she's flirted with him for years. The man's a wimp and he fathered a sickly wimp. There ought to be a law against it. As far as Richard White was concerned, he provided security to Lane after Superman dumped her. Lane was a basket case when Superman left her. White suddenly appeared and provided her with security. To top it off, she discovers that she's pregnant. I bet she let White believe the kid was his.

Thornton gave Huntley the money with the caveat that he would return for more information and other services. However Thornton walked away convinced that Richard White had to be Superman living quietly incognito with his wife, Mad-Dog Lois Lane. He was now comfortable with the plan that his team created to expose Superman and his child.

_**A Nondescript Warehouse on Warehouse Row in Metropolis**_

A bare room containing a conference room table was the meeting place for the most dangerous group in the world. Lex Luthor sat with his eyes closed and ear buds in place; his hands tented under his chin while listening to Giuseppe Verdi's "La Traviata" on an IPad. George Skoros, multi-billionaire and financial market manipulator looked distracted, engrossed in his own thoughts.

Skoros was the first to break the silence. He ranted about the failure of Luthor's intricate and expensive plan to capture Superman. Directing his venom at Luthor he yelled, "You claim to be the world's greatest scientist. **WHAT HAPPENED TODAY?** You guaranteed that your plan was foolproof. I put up a lot of money. For what? Your failure put Superman and the League on guard. It will be almost impossible to capture him now."

"Mr. Skoros," Luthor sneered, "you were aware of the risks prior to participating in this adventure. Actually my plan would have worked perfectly if the Justice League had not interfered. I took down the great and noble Superman with Kryptonite. Judging from the televised events, he didn't look very well when the Justice League rescued him. By the way, have you heard from those government's people, you know, the agents?"

"We're here gentlemen," stated Thornton and his fellow agents as they entered the room. "We're discussing an alternative plan to flesh out Superman. We believe we have discovered that Superman and his child live among us disguised as an ordinary people. We're going to test it in a few days. We plan to create a small disturbance where he will be compelled to use his powers. After that we'll take him down with Kryptonite.

Skoros looked at them incredulously. "What do you mean his child? He said that the child was stillborn or did you miss that part?"

"We don't believe him. We have reason to believe that he has a daughter. Until we execute this plan, the fewer people knowing the details, the better.

"When do you plan to execute this plan?" Skoros said with his arms folded over his chest and looking bored.

You'll know once the deed is done Mr. Skoros. Mr. Luthor, if you plan to obtain tissue samples and DNA, I suggest that you complete your preparations within the next two days. Good day gentlemen, we'll be in touch. Thornton and his team left the room.

_**Watchtower Med Bay, 24 hours later…**_

Clark slept the better part of twenty-four hours and awoke to find Ceci hovering over him. "Hi Ceci," he said with a raspy voice, "we've got to stop meeting this way. People will talk." He coughed weakly. "You didn't put in another one of those darn catheters, did you?"

"Good afternoon to you too Clark and no, I didn't put in a catheter. This time, I put a uro-sheath (3) on you. You're just as dry as can be." She looked at him grimly, "he League asked me to let them know when you awoke so I'll be right back."

"Oh joy. I don't even want to look." He sat up carefully and took a tentative deep breath. His chest ached but he recognized that was a familiar side effect after Kryptonite exposure. He lay back on his pillow, closing his eyes and suddenly awoke in a panic. "The twins, oh my God, the twins. I've got to get out of here." He jumped out of bed feeling woozy on his feet while attempting to locate his clothes.

Just then, Ceci re-entered the med bay accompanied by Wonder Woman holding Karala and Batman carrying Jordan. Bringing up the rear were the Flash, holding Jason's hand, Martha Kent, J'onn J'onzz, Green Lantern and Green Arrow. "Clark, what are you doing? You shouldn't be up yet. Take it slowly."

Clark didn't even look up, still trying to find his clothes. "I've got to get home and care for the twins. They must be starving and they can't tolerate human formula. Ceci where did you put my clothes."

The League erupted in laughter that the world's greatest hero was in a panic to find his clothes. Wonder Woman decided to put his mind at ease "Clark, we thought about the children too so we teleported them and your mother here for protection. Ceci's been pumping your milk to feed the babies. Jason has been having a good time with Flash.

Jason chimed in, "this is a cool place Daddy. The Flash & I ran around the gym; I won every time." The Flash just grinned and looked at his feet. "Just call me a softy when it comes to kids but he really is fast."

Clark sat on the edge of his bed accepting a baby into each arm. Jason sat on the bed close to him. Jordan tried to root through Clark's hospital gown. Martha interrupted, "Ceci and I travel with breast pumps now because we never know what your condition might be when we find you. Clark, you can't continue as Superman or Kal-El. You have a young family now; I know you have this need to save the world but you can't do it in the four hours between feedings." She broke down in tears.

A chair was brought in for her while Ceci put her arms around Martha's shoulders. "She's right Clark," said Wonder Woman. "We got lazy and have relied on you for too long. Your pregnancy proved that we can work together as a team to get things done so we're putting you on extended leave so that you can care for your family. The time will come when you'll be ready to return and you will be welcomed."

Clark looked at his children with a faint smile. "I guess you're right. Things have changed for me. My life is complicated enough with work and three children. I think I'm ready to go home. Martha cried openly with joy.

_**Daily Planet Bull Pen, two days later…**_

Clark worked through the day attempting to ignore the snickers of his coworkers. Richard and Lois avoided him but he was glad that they allowed Jason to spend time with him. It was Friday and they promised that Jason could enjoy the weekend with him. He was engrossed in his work when he became aware of someone standing next to his desk. He looked up to see Lois.

"Oh hi Lois, can I do something for you? He pushed his glasses up on his nose while smiling sheepishly.

"Can I talk to you Clark? I want to clear the air about what happened the other day. I owe that much to you."

"You don't have to do that Lois. Things are beginning to get back to normal. I really don't want to cause another ruckus. Perry would have my head."

"I won't disrupt the office. I just need to talk to you.

"Okay, let's go to the conference room. After you milady?"

Lois proceeded to the conference with Clark close behind; his shoulders slumped to disguise his true height. He closed the conference room door behind him as Lois had already taken a seat. "I'm sorry about the way things occurred the other day but I tried to deflect interest away from Superman being Jason's father. They were very close to the truth…

"…so you told them the truth. It was just hard to have the entire bull pen and the agents hear the graphic details of how I lost my virginity." He blushed bright red to the tips of his ears.

"I didn't know what else to say…" Suddenly, a loud blast rocked the newsroom. "What was that?"

Clark stood up and looked around intently. "Oh no," as he sped out of the room to Lois' surprise.

Clark blurred down the stairs changing into the suit along the way. He stopped when he reached the lowest level at the basement garage. There, he saw Richard's car, engulfed in flames. Taking a deep breath, he blew out the flames and ripped off the door on the driver's side. He carefully removed Richard who was badly burned but still alive. "Jo… Joanne..." Glancing up, he saw the tiny baby still strapped in her car seat in the smoking wreckage. He ripped the top off the car and extracted the burned car seat. Carefully removing the baby from the seat, he began CPR on Lois' baby. He struggled to give her tiny puffs so that he would not damage her fragile lungs. By then emergency responders arrived at the scene. "Take care of him. I'll take the baby to Metropolis General." He sped through the winding garage while providing CPR to the baby. Taking to the air, he arrived at the hospital within seconds dashing into the Pediatric Emergency Department all the while still attempting to revive the baby. The pediatric staff took over leaving him standing alone in the waiting room. He could hear the sirens of the approaching ambulance delivering Richard to the Adult Emergency Department. Within minutes, Lois ran into the ER as a somber faced doctor re-entered the waiting area.

Sprinting past Superman, she ran up to the doctor screaming, "My baby is my baby going to be okay?

"I'm sorry Mrs. White, we did everything we could but we couldn't save her."

**No, no**. this can't be. My baby's dead. Nooo! Clark caught her as she fainted in the middle of the ER.

Lois was admitted to the adult ED in shock while Clark as Superman waited to find out Richard's condition. Before long, Perry arrived to tell him that Richard also had died. Clark held his head as he sank into a chair. "Why, why would anyone want to harm Richard or the baby? He wasn't investigating anything that would put his life in jeopardy. Neither was Lois. I've got to get to the bottom of this situation and I think the agents have something to do with it.

Clark got ready to leave when Perry stopped him. "Listen son, I can see that you're not yet returned to peak levels. Please, be careful!

Clark looked down at his feet and took a deep breath. "It's pretty obvious isn't it?"

"Only to someone who's studied your every move like I have."

"Perry, I've trusted you with my greatest secret; I promise I won't do anything rash. Trust me."

"As always, son."

_**An Office in a Government Building in Metropolis**_

Thornton couldn't believe his ears when he heard that the little explosion that he had planned to force Richard White to reveal his Superman alter ego actually destroyed the vehicle killing White and his three month old daughter.

"_**What the hell happened?**_ You were only supposed to crack the front axle so that he would have to use his powers to repair it while we observed. You weren't supposed to blow up the entire car. Now look what's happened. We've proven that he was _**not**_Superman and we will be charged with premeditated murder. Not only that but the real Superman will be hunting for us."

Von Nast looked nervous. "Sir, I don't know what happened. I calculated and recalculated the charge. It must have been something about that car's design. I never expected this to happen."

"What am I supposed to tell the Consortium? 'We tried to prove that Richard White and his daughter were Superman and his spawn. Somehow, we accidently killed them.' That would go over like a lead balloon and we would never see the light of day."

Mona bit one of her fingernails, looking very nervous. "Maybe this is our opportunity to capture the real Superman. He will come out of hiding to figure out who killed White and his daughter. We still have a huge supply of Kryptonite. We might still come out on the winning end if we can return to the Consortium with the Prize."

_**Four hours later**_

The Secretary General was unceremoniously teleported back to the U.N. in clean clothing. He was thoroughly convinced that he had been mercilessly tortured on the Watchtower. All he remembered was being placed in the Brig on the Watchtower satellite and undergoing "brutal" interrogation by Wonder Woman and the Batman. His memory was faulty but they must have used sophisticated interrogation methods on him. There wasn't a mark on his body but his pelvis and 'private parts' were exquisitely tender. He knew the Amazons were brutal but this went beyond the pale. It was during this time that the agents visited him.

"Mr. Secretary General welcome back. We are so happy that you were returned alive and well," Thornton said attempting to ingratiate himself with the official.

"It was brutal up there Agent Thornton but I think I'll recover. How are the efforts going to capture Superman?"

"We had a secret agent planted in the Daily Planet staff who fed us information. That agent was a former Air Force colonel named Richard White. Today, he and his infant daughter were brutal murdered by the Justice League, possibly by Superman himself. Apparently he was on the scene."

The Secretary General's face contorted with righteous anger. "Agents, this atrocity cannot go unanswered. We must bring down Superman and the Justice League. I know because of the torture they perpetrated on me."

"Mr. Secretary General, we need you to make an announcement that Superman murdered Richard White and his three month old daughter because White had information that proved Superman was complicit with Zod in the effort to destroy the human race.

The Secretary General was livid. "This adds to the list of crimes he has conducted against humanity. I will make an emergency telecast during primetime. These atrocities must end."

_**Metropolis Hospital, Lois Lane-White's Room**_

Lois packed her suitcase preparing for hospital discharge. She had spent the last twenty-four hours crying her eyes out. She received sympathetic calls from so many well-wishers but she knew it was time to return to the real world. Perry sat in an easy chair next to her bed. He had just told her that the funeral arrangements for her husband and daughter were complete. Tears poured down her face.

"I want them buried together. She'll sleep in his arms forever. That's the way I want to remember them. He was devoted to his daughter.

"Yes, Lois and it's also going to be closed casket. They were badly burned."

"So I can't even touch them one more time?" She broke down in a torrent of tears. Perry embraced his star reporter, as he also cried. "I'm sorry Perry; I just can't stop crying."

"It's alright Lois. You have every reason to cry."

Just then there was a knock at the door. A small person entered. It was Jason holding Clark's hand. Both had red eyes and tear-streaked faces. The boy ran to his mother who embraced him tightly. Clark just stood unable to speak.

Jason looked at his mother sorrowfully "Mommy, Daddy Clark told me that Joanne and Daddy Richard went to Heaven to be with Grandpa Jonathan. Why Mommy, why?"

"I don't know honey. It just happened."

Perry was the first to notice the emergency announcement from the Secretary General. He got up and raised the TV's volume. "People of the Earth. Today I returned from imprisonment and torture on the Watchtower satellite but I want to report that yesterday, the Justice League under the leadership of Superman brutally murdered a patriot, Richard White and his three month old daughter, Joanne. Our deepest sympathies go out to Lois Lane-White and her son, Jason. We will avenge their deaths. Superman and the Justice League, surrender yourselves now. Stop these horrors. You will be treated humanely but these actions must stop."

All eyes turned to Clark. He said quietly, "they…they died because of me? He's right. This cannot and will not continue." He walked slowly out of the hospital room, his shoulders slumped from the weight of his sorrow.

_**To be continued… Please, please review**_

1 K-man is the Agent's internal code name for Superman.

2 Duonebs® is the trade name for ipratropium bromide and albuterol sulfate, commonly used to relax the trachea and bronchi in patients with reactive or obstructive airway diseases.

3 A uro-sheath is an external urine collection device. It is also known as a condom catheter. It is applied externally to the male anatomy for urine collection.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Hi everyone. Welcome back to the "What Sacrifices" Alternate Universe. This was a difficult chapter to write since there were so many reminders of my sister's funeral just this past March. The wounds are still fresh.

So many events in the fiction were occurring simultaneously and I worked carefully so that the story would make sense. I wanted the chapter to be realistic but consistent in its science. So I had to create some concepts. The main one is the _**V'ritfore Process**_. We know that from _**Superman: the Movie**_, Jor-El and Lara incorporated their memories into the Father crystal to accompany the baby Kal-El in his ship. I've given the process a name. The process is similar to the Vulcan mind melding with the passing of one's Katra.

I've elaborated on the _**Kyren**_ and what are the implications to Bruce Wayne and Jason.

_**Acknowledgements:**_

To _**JessieDog**_: Thank you for your suggestion regarding the closed circuit taping of the Secretary-General's interrogation. It will be discussed in this chapter.

To _**Dorothea-Blackmore**_: I'm elaborating on Richard's and Joanne's murders. It will be carefully investigated by a group other than the Metropolis Police. I'll try not to gloss over future important scenes.

Welcome to _**mrsMxyzptlk**_ and thank you for following this story.

_**Disclaimers:**_

I don't receive any payment for this fiction and I don't want to infringe on any copyrights. I just like to write fiction and this is a milieu that I really enjoy. Any similarity to persons living or dead is purely coincidental. Don't forget that _**Man of Steel **_premiers on 6/14/2013. Now on with the story.

Chapter 9

_**Metropolis Medical Center, 11th floor**_

Clark walked slowly away from Lois' room; the burden of Richard's and Joanne's deaths weighed heavily on him. He felt truly alone, an alien and unwanted on this planet. His birth parents were wrong about humans being noble. They were savage, paranoid people willing to kill their own kind to destroy what they didn't understand. Tears streamed down his face as he realized that his children would never be safe. Jason had a chance being half human. His subtle telepathic powers could suppress any suspicion of his extraterrestrial parentage. It would not be the same for the twins. Just behaving like a child could accidentally expose an extraordinary gift. The elevator was empty as he rode to the main floor. He needed to get away to think and plan his next moves.

_**Daily Planet Building, Lower Level Garage**_

Metropolis Police completed their investigation but the garage area was still cordoned off at the request of Bruce Wayne. Bruce prepared to conduct his own investigation when he quietly hid in the shadows of the darkened garage listening to two young men observing the crime scene. Jimmy Olsen and Alfredo Lopez remained just outside of the crime area but used their cameras to take pictures.

Jimmy was livid about the Secretary General's statements. "I tell you Al, I knew Richard White pretty well. He was no spy and he would have never worked with the U.N. against Superman. In fact, I think they became friendly after Superman got over Lois."

"Do you think Superman was jealous of Richard being married to Lois?" asked Alfredo clicking the shutter of his camera.

"No way, man; Superman was always a gentleman. He showed the greatest respect to Richard and Lois being careful not to intrude on their privacy. Richard would never betray him; I just know it.

"What makes you say that Mr. Olsen? What proof do you have?" said Bruce emerging from the shadows. "And what are the two of you doing here? When I said that this area was off limits to all staff, I meant it. You seem to have some difficulty with rules Mr. Olsen."

"Mr. Wayne, we never heard you come down here. This is my fault; Al is just an intern following me. We were looking for clues." Jimmy could only look at his feet while maneuvering Al toward the elevator. "We're about finished and we'll get out of here.

Ye…yes sir, Mr. Wayne. We're leaving now." Al had a hint of anxiety in his voice. He was aware that Bruce Wayne was well known as an eccentric profligate playboy billionaire with an uncanny noise for business. Crossing this man would end his career before he even completed college.

"Just one minute gentlemen; how many photographs did you take?" Bruce stated commandingly. He walked to the edge of the yellow crime tape that limited the area. "Well?" His demand startled the two young men so they both jumped at the sound of his voice.

"Twenty-three sir; we can destroy them if you want." Al volunteered while fumbling with the camera.

"That won't be necessary Mr. Lopez. Both of you have as an assignment for the next hour which is to develop the film. I want the photographs and the CD with the negatives on my desk. You are not to speak of this to anyone. I understand that you were on assignment with Mr. White for his last story at the U.N. Mr. Olsen. I want to speak to you in 90 minutes about that story. Bruce returned to inspecting the crime area. "Thank you very much gentlemen." Jimmy and Al broke into a trot to return to the elevator, happy that they both survived interrogation by the mysterious Mr. Wayne. Bruce's gaze remained on the crime scene. Richard's Audi had been removed & the area scrubbed for evidence by police but Bruce's eyes looked everywhere but the crime scene. He already knew that police followed the same line as spouted by the Secretary-General; he knew Clark had nothing to do with the murders.

The closed circuit monitoring system was incapacitated only six hours before the murders. The perpetrators were not recorded. Bruce was sure of one thing. Whoever killed Richard would have wanted to observe his handiwork. Bruce widened the observation area as far as possible while still being able to see the parking space. His sharp eyes examined the perimeter as he walked slowly around the expanded area. Debris littered the larger area but Bruce's keen vision focused on objects that would be out of place in the garage of major Metropolitan newspaper. He felt vindicated when he located a tiny cigarette butt. A small object, possible unrelated to the murders but at least a start. He glanced around quickly to assure that he wasn't being observed and using a clear plastic bag, he scooped up the cigarette and the surrounding soil, placed it in an inside pocket of his jacket and returned to the elevators leading the upper floors of the Daily Planet.

When Bruce arrived in his office, he found that Jimmy and Alfred left the photographs as he requested. He called his secretary, Sandra Curry, on the office intercom. "Ms. Curry, would you please have Jimmy Olsen come to my office?"

"Yes, Mr. Wayne, right away."

It took Jimmy less than five minutes to arrive at his publisher's office. Swallowing deeply, he entered the posh office while Bruce sat with the photographs spread on the desk in front of him, a jeweler's magnifier sat nearby. "Well Mr. Olsen, Perry White must really trust your abilities to send you to the U.N. with Richard White?"

Jimmy thought carefully. Was this a trick question? Well he would just answer honestly. "Mr. Wayne, I'm a pretty good photographer but I have other skills."

"Really; what other skills, Mr. Olsen?"

"I'm good at picking locks and jumping a car. You never know when you might be called on to use those skills." Jimmy felt his tongue get thick.

"Did you need to use any of those 'other' skills while you were on assignment in New York?"

Jimmy thought to himself, "In fact I did. While we photographed some papers in the U.S. Ambassador's office, we overheard her talking to one of her aides. She was supposed to meet a person by the name of George Skoros about a Consortium that was behind this effort against Superman. I had picked some locks so that we could hide in a cleaning closet."

Bruce's mind raced when he heard this information. This was the man personally responsible for the crash of the Pound Sterling of the United Kingdom. This was the first real lead he had on what was driving the opposition of Superman. "Thank you very much Mr. Olsen. I might consult with you again." Jimmy strode out of the office feeling that he had a really contributed something important to finding out why the U.N. was against Superman. Bruce gathered up the photos and decided that closer examination was required at the Bat Cave.

_**A Nondescript Warehouse in the warehouse section of Metropolis**_

Lex Luthor, George Skoros and their government contact, General Harper argued in the conference room. General Harper took the lead. "Luthor, murder of two innocent humans was not part of the plan. Richard White was a good and honest man. The Secretary-General lied when he said that White was a government operative. The plan was for damage to the car, not to murder them.

Luthor smiled slyly. "They were collateral damage General, part of the plan to flesh out Superman. Your agents have beat around the bush long enough. They thought White was Superman. I've studied the man long enough to know that White was not Superman. I know his mind; Superman is strong but he has a weakness. He is compassionate; he second guesses his decisions. He has human fears and feelings wrapped up in an alien body. All I want is the secret of his invulnerability and his powers; I don't care about his feelings. This action will eat away at his conscience; he will feel responsible for the deaths. In order to stop any other more murders, he will come out of hiding and surrender himself. The Justice League stopped him before he could do so at the U.N. He'll come forward now and gladly surrender to your people. Tell them not to botch it this time. Luthor laughed, Skoros hung his head wondering how he managed to get involved with this mess and General Harper turned from the pair. He resolved to contact the agents and have them use any necessary means to take down Superman.

_**Lois Lane-White's home**_

Lois wandered aimlessly in her kitchen while her mother and sister coaxed her to relax. Family and friends filled the house but Lois looked for only one person. She knew that Clark still had responsibilities for his own family but she hoped that he would come by at least for Jason's sake. Jason had withdrawn into his room and refused to see anyone. He could be heard crying. She sat at the kitchen island wondering if she should call Clark when the front doorbell rang.

"I'll get it, Lo," replied her sister walking through the dining room, down the hall and to the front door. "Hi Clark, how are you? I'm sure Lo will be glad to see you."

"Hi Lucy," he said. "How is she doing and how is Jason?" He entered the foyer and acknowledged the greetings of various people from the Planet. The usual hushed snickers and whispers followed with people believing he couldn't hear them. He was tempted to tell them that he could hear them perfectly well and resented the comments. His shoulders just slumped further as he walked to the kitchen. "Hi Lois," he said from a respectful distance. "I didn't want to intrude on you privacy."

Lois wiped her face and blew her nose. She could see that Clark was also suffering at the loss of a good friend and her beautiful baby. "Thanks for coming by Clark. I know this is hard for you too." She stood up and embraced him. "Let's go outside." She headed to the patio with Clark close behind her. When they felt that they were out of earshot of the house, Clark looked up at her with sad eyes.

"How is Jason doing? He was pretty upset about everything." Clark asked.

"He just stays upstairs and cries. He won't eat. It would be good if you can convince him to come downstairs. We're here for him too." Lois fumbled in her pocket for a pack of cigarettes. Clark couldn't find it in his heart to stop her as she lit up.

"Would it be okay with you if I talked to him alone? Maybe I could bring him a sandwich and some milk?"

Lois smiled, "I would appreciate anything you could do." They returned to the kitchen and made a peanut butter and jelly sandwich plus a glass of milk for Jason. Clark glanced up to Jason's room and saw him lying across his bed, awake and listening out for him. He sent a telepathic message to his son that he was coming up to see him. Jason got up immediately and unlocked the door. He then retreated back to his bed.

"He's expecting me Lois. I'll go upstairs first. You can come upstairs in a few minutes." Clark gathered up the prepared meal and navigated through the house guests. He climbed the stairs to the second floor and found Jason's door open. He knocked on the door before entering. "May I come in Jason?" He asked.

Jason came directly to the door, opening it. Clark entered and placed the sandwich on Jason's desk. The child jumped into arms, crying as if his heart would break. "Daddy Clark, they never hurt anybody. It's just not fair; Joanne was only a baby. Who did she hurt?"

"It was evil people Jason but I promise; I'll find them and bring them to justice."

"They'll just go to jail and get out or escape like Luthor did. There is no justice."

Clark smiled within noting how perceptive his son was concerning human law. "I promise it will be different this time Jason. You will have justice but until then, you must continue to hide your gifts. No one must ever suspect that you are Superman's son.

It was then that Jason got a glimpse at Clark's plan telepathically. "No Daddy, please don't. Daddy Richard and Joanne are gone. I can't lose you too," he said with wide eyes. Just then, Lois arrived.

"Are you going somewhere Clark?" she asked coming in on the tail end of the conversation.

Clark admonished Jason telepathically not to say anything to his mother. "No Lois, Jason & I talked about loss and the injustices of the justice system, that's all. I think he's ready to come downstairs now, right Jason?"

"Munchkin, I know this is a hard time for you but we are here to help you. We love you very much." Lois embraced her son as tears streamed down her face.

Jason just shook his head sadly. He suspected that he would lose both his fathers and all of his siblings in the near future. Somehow, he had to prevent it.

_**Watchtower Satellite, a few hours later**_

"Come on Diana, we've got to leave this place. We can't stay up here forever." The Flash paced in an increasingly rapid circle around the League's conference room table.

"Hold your horses Flash" said Green Arrow as he settled down into a chair adjacent to Diana's. "J'onn, Green Lantern, Batman and Superman will be here shortly. I passed them in the hallway. The four other League members joined the group in the conference room a few minutes later. As the chair person for that month, Flash took the lead.

"Okay you guys, the meeting's called to order. Batman, what did you find out from your investigation."

The Batman spoke up, "I found an interesting clue at the Daily Planet murder site." Superman just sighed. "There was a cigarette butt but not just an ordinary one. It is a Karelia Ome Superslim, a Greek cigarette. Sold mostly in the European Union, it was easy to find out who in the United States has been purchasing them. One name out of the thousands of purchasers in the U.S. stood out; that was Agent Thornton. I isolated traces of his DNA on the butt. It doesn't mean that Thornton and his people were responsible for the deaths but it does make me wonder why he was in the employee garage at the Planet.

"What about your findings Lantern?" Green Lantern grinned while he reported that in his alter ego, he visited the U.N. and found out that the Secretary-General believed that he had been tortured here in Watchtower. "Diana, whatever you did to him, he thinks the Amazons are barbaric."

"Thank you John. I hoped he would feel that way. I think it's time for me to pay a visit to him with the CD recording of his time visiting us here on Watchtower. I believe we will all be exonerated of any charges of torture he might have against us.

"I'll accompany you Diana; I want to see the expression on his face when he realizes how he was "tortured." The entire group broke out in laughter except for Superman who just looked sad and broken.

Flash picked up on his friend's mood. "Now we need to work on the problem our Kryptonian colleague has suffered."

Clark lifted his head and feigned a smile. "I've got it under control; I know what I need to do. I just want all of you as the representatives of Jason's Raohim (godparents) to watch out for him." He rose to leave the meeting.

Batman quickly barred his way from leaving the meeting. "Wait one minute Boy Scout. I'm still the steward to the House of El. You haven't released me from my responsibilities according the requirements of the _**Kyren**_. Further, last I checked, you have three children, not one.

"I purposely haven't resumed my responsibilities. I plan to take the twins and retreat to the Fortress. As full Kryptonians, they would survive the process; I don't know if Jason would survive. Besides, I can't take him away from Lois. She's already lost so much."

The League members broke out in multiple questions. "Clark, what are you planning to do?" was the most commonly asked question. Flash brought the meeting back to order. "Okay you guys, I'm taking control of the meeting again. Now Clark, what are you talking about? What do you mean 'survive' the process."

"The Jor-El AI was right," he said sadly. "Krypton will only survive with pure Kryptonian DNA. As much as I love Jason, my very presence puts him at risk for exposure as a human/kryptonian hybrid. If I disappear, no one will look for him."

"Clark, they don't want you to disappear; they want you dead." Diana said bluntly. "They want to dissect you to find out what makes you tick."

"They never figure it out Diana. Let me tell you the secret of Kryptonian DNA. I've only told you part of the story of Rao."

"You mean the Kryptonian deity, Rao?" asked J'onn. "He also represents the red giant star that eventually caused the demise of your planet.

Clark explained "Rao was an inter-dimensional energy being who slipped between time and dimensions to discover humanoid beings living on a planet in the Sagittarius system. He and two other beings, Sol and Despair seeded several planets with these humanoids. Sol seeded the Earth and left immediately to return to inter-dimensional life. He left the humanoids of Earth to flourish with minimal interference. Rao loved his humanoid creatures. He accelerated the development of the planet Krypton and placed his humanoids there. He found however that the planet was too close to its star and the gravity too strong for the humanoids to survive. To assist them, he incorporated a small amount of his own energy into his humanoids so that they would survive. He incorporated it into the very soil of Krypton so that it with time it became part of our DNA. Rao also became enamored of one Kryptonian humanoid. Her name was Mirimara. She also loved Rao, the giver of light. Rao entered a humanoid male named Prim-El, my ancient ancestor. They loved each other and bore children carrying the ancient inter-dimensional energy of Rao in their cells. After all of these thousands of years, as a direct descendant of Prim-El, I carry Rao's energy as do my children. Rao's energy also carried great knowledge which allowed Kryptonians to become superb scientists. The last inter-dimensional being was Despair. His humanoids became consummately evil, producing the likes of Darkseid and his minions. Rao's energy is like a flame in the cell. Wherever it is present, even in miniscule amounts, it will grow and become dominant in that person. The energy of Rao will eventually become part of every person on Earth, as long as Jason survives and reproduces. So in a way, Thornton was right. Human/kryptonian hybrids will eventually supplant Homo sapiens yielding Homo kryptonian. That's not an evil, simply the next step of evolution. After all, it was Sol who introduced Homo sapiens to Earth as Homo neanderthalensis(1) became extinct.

The Justice League members didn't know what to say when Clark finished his story. "So you're like Prim-El of Krypton and Lois is our version of Mirimara," said Green Arrow. "What about the twins?"

"I plan to put the babies into deep stasis. In maybe 100 years or 1000 years, Homo kryptonians would have evolved enough to release them from stasis so that they can live normal lives."

"What about _**you**_?" Batman asked and patiently waited for a response.

Clark took a deep breath and looked at him intently. "You are steward according to the _**Kyren**_. I am not capable of continuing as the Chancellor of Krypton and the head of the last Great House. I abdicate my titles and turn them over to you, my trusted friend, to hold until my elder son Jason reaches the age of majority. I will undergo the _**V'ritfore process**_(2) so that my knowledge and spirit will always be available to Jason and the twins."

"Hold on Clark. My understanding of the _**V'ritfore**_ is that you only undergo the process if you anticipate death so that your knowledge is not totally lost. Are you planning suicide?" Batman was passionate by then.

"No old friend, not suicide but I will turn myself over to the agents. They won't find anything useful but it will stop the murders.

"Nooo Clark. There has to be some other way. We all know what will happen if you surrender to the U.N. It's a death sentence for you." Lantern was on his feet and gesturing with his hands.

Clark looked around the table. "If you have some other solution, I'm open to any suggestions." The league members looked at each other in utter silence. "That's what I thought." He started leaving the conference room.

"Wait Clark; when do you plan to do all of this? Let us at least monitor this so that we can help you." Diana said as she followed him out of the conference room.

He turned and told her, "You all have done more than enough. I must do this alone. And tell Darth he's getting sloppy. This was too easy to find." He handed her a small bat-tracking device as he walked down the corridor to the elevators.

Diana returned to the conference room and dropped the tracking device on the table. "He thinks you're losing your touch. He found it before he got to the elevator." Batman looked up from the portable monitoring screen. One small blip was located in the Watchtower conference room but two small closely aligned blips moved to the teleportation platform, disappeared to reappear on the roof of the Daily Planet building.

"I'd hoped he would find that one." He pushed the center button causing the Watchtower blip to vanish from the screen. The two other blips continued transmitting. "Hopefully he won't become aware of the other two anytime soon."

_**Metropolitan Funeral Home – two days later**_

The Metropolitan Funeral Home was filled to overflowing for the private funeral for Richard White and his infant daughter. Lois and Jason sat in the front row staring at the single closed mahogany casket. Martha Kent sat on her left while Lois' immediate family filled in three rows. Perry White sat on her right side holding her hand. His brother and sister-in-law flanked him along with the rest of his family. Members of the Daily Planet staff filled the hall to overflowing. Clark stood alone in a corner.

Jason asked for Father Daniel Leone to officiate at the funeral. Lois didn't care one way or the other. She felt as if she walked in a fog. She went through the motions of the funeral aware that her breasts ached since Joanne no longer nursed. It just added to her loss and sorrow. Clark had visited several times over the past two days but even he was distant and distracted.

Fr. Leone said many wonderful things about Richard based on what Jason and Clark told him. He spoke of hope in time of sorrow.

There is a season for everything, a time for every occupation under heaven:

A time for giving birth, a time for dying; a time for planting, a time for uprooting what has been planted.

A time for killing, a time for healing; a time for knocking down, a time for building.

A time for tears, a time for laughter; a time for mourning, a time for dancing.

A time for throwing stones away, a time for gathering them; a time for embracing, a time to refrain from embracing.

A time for searching, a time for losing; a time for keeping, a time for discarding.

A time for tearing, a time for sewing; a time for keeping silent, a time for speaking.

A time for loving, a time for hating; a time for war, a time for peace.(3)

"Richard and Joanne found peace. Their time has come and gone but they passed the baton to you Lois and Jason. They want you to make the best of your lives until you meet them again." Lois just burst into tears; Clark's heart was breaking. He guarded his thoughts so that Jason would not be aware of the depth of his sorrow. Bruce sat in a back row along with the other Justice League members in their civilian garb. They wanted to be sure that the agents would not disturb the mourners. He worried about Clark. Fortunately, he still was not aware of the near microscopic trackers attached to new costume. Knowing Clark, Bruce figured that he would not make any moves until after the funeral. Clark would want to be available to Lois and Jason.

The last scripture readings and hymns were sung so the pall bearers came forward to move the casket to the hearse. Clark asked the pall bearers if he could assist. So the Daily Planet staff gasped as a sorrowful Clark, now revealed as Jason White's biological father assisted to bring an obvious competitor to rest. At that point, Clark didn't care what anyone said about him.

After a short ride to the cemetery, Richard and Joanne were laid to rest. Lois and Jason lingered after the interment to touch the casket before it was lowered into the ground. Two roses lay on the casket, a bright red rose in full bloom and a tiny pink rose bud. The symbolism of the two roses was not lost to anyone. The funeral director led Lois and Jason back to the limousine for the ride back to their home. The Justice Leaguers retreated to a discrete distance to continue monitoring activities at the funeral. Clark waited until everyone left. He knelt in the dirt beside the now buried casket and promised Richard and Joanne that their deaths would not be in vain.

_**To be continued… Please, please review**_

(1) Anatomically modern human beings (Homo sapiens) emerged from Africa between 80,000 and 50,000 years ago according to a 2010 study. Source: wiki/Neanderthal

(2) The V'ritfore process is the process that Jor-El and Lara used to incorporate a portion of their spirits and all of their knowledge to create the Fortress AI.

(3) Ecclesiastes – Chapter 3, Verse 1-8. Source: . ?bible_chapter=3&id=25


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Hi everyone, welcome back to the "What Sacrifices" alternate universe. I've enjoyed vacation with my family this week with my children and grandchildren. They took me to see "Man of Steel." I truly enjoyed it and my muse really got a jolt of inspiration. Therefore I added a section to this chapter that draws on some of those ideas. No spoilers if you have not seen the movie yet. I created a mythology which does not conform with Superman canon because it does not exist (as far as I could discover). It is written style of biblical poetry. There is no meter or rhyme but it is meant to be sung or chanted. Biblical poetry was written over a millennium. Rao poetry was written over a weekend. Just enjoy the Kryptonian explanation for their strength and power.

**Welcome** to _**mumusky**_, _**stephanialilly, and docglbmd**_. I hope that enjoy the fiction.

**Acknowledgements:**

_**Superfan2**_ will appear in a future chapter as Dr. Peterson. All guest characters will make appearances in later chapters.

**Disclaimers:**

I don't receive any remuneration from Warner Brothers, DC Comics or any entity holding copyrights to the Superman franchise. I'm still having fun playing with their toys. Now on to the story.

* * *

Chapter 10

Clark stood up and watched Lois' limousine drive away along with the other participants in the funeral. He swallowed repeatedly attempting to keep control of his emotions. Sighing to himself, he decided that he suffered from postpartum depression. He had heard that new mothers could experience depression months after giving birth. Why couldn't that be the same with him? He just would not accept that Richard's and Joanne's deaths could affect him so profoundly. His shoulders slumped as he walked slowly away from the grave site. He was so distracted that he wasn't even aware of his fellow Justice Leaguers surrounding him as he exited the cemetery.

"Clark," Diana said softly as she approached him. "Are you alright? I've never seen you like this. I don't think any of us have seen you like this." The other Leaguers murmured their agreement. He just looked back at her with tired eyes.

"I'm just a little tired guys. I'll be fine. I need to get back home to care for the twins. Ceci is babysitting and should be down to the last two bottles of milk for them. "Not only that," he smiled faintly, "I can hear them crying, so I'm leaking again." He held his over-sized soil-stained jacket away from his chest gesturing that his dress shirt was saturated. Looking around to assure that no one observed him, he slowly rose into the air & said, "I've got to get home now."

As he streaked away, the shocked Leaguers looked at each other. "Things are worse than we thought." Bruce said quietly. "He didn't even bother to change into the Suit."

* * *

_**Clark Kent's Home**_

Ceci Woods, the nurse practitioner, graciously offered to babysit the twins for four hours during the funeral. After all, she had been with him when he gave birth almost three months earlier. Her relationship to the Kent family was solid but she worried about him. He was incredibly attentive toward his children but didn't seem to care about his own condition. She watched the television reports of his going before the U.N. to argue his case. She breathed a sigh of relief when the JLA rescued Clark him certain imprisonment and possible death at the hands of the U.N.

The babies were suddenly restless and upset. She knew this to be a bad sign. From past experiences, she was aware that a telepathic bond existed between Clark and his three children. They responded to any physical or emotional distress he experienced. Something must have happened for the twins to respond so intensely. She paced the floor with them after feeding and changing their diapers. Rocking them seemed to be comforting but they both whimpered pitifully until Clark arrived at home.

"Hi Ceci, how are you? How did they treat you while I was away?" He walked slowly into the Nursery, looking disheveled as if he had slept in his clothing for a few days. He advanced to the cradles and rubbed the babies' heads. They responded immediately by cooing and gurgling.

"They're glad to see you Clark. You have a soothing influence on them. But what happened to your suit? I've never seen you like this!"

Clark looked down at himself. "Oh, I was in a hurry to get home. I guess I didn't pay attention to what I was wearing. I could hear them crying so I just came home as quickly as I could."

Ceci looked at him skeptically. "I guess you're right Clark. It just never occurred to me that you would fly around in civilian attire."

"It's no big deal Ceci. I flew high enough that no one would recognize me. Thanks for watching them for me. Now, I've got to do some work to do around the house."

"Okay, don't hesitate to give me a call. I'm always happy to see my favorite twins." She said her good byes to the twins and proceeded down the stairs to the front door. Clark was close behind her.

"Ceci, I want to thank you for all you've done for me and the twins. I could never repay you for your kindness."

"You don't need to thank me Clark. Just keep doing what you do to protect this planet. You know I don't believe a thing the U.N. claims about you or the League. The Secretary General is an ass if he's willing to believe that garbage coming from those agents. You had nothing to do with Richard's and Joanne's deaths." She looked him in the eye but could see that he was troubled. "You know that, don't you?"

Clark looked down at the floor clearly contemplating her words, "Don't you see that my presence is the trigger for violence? Richard and Joanne would be alive right now if I had not returned to Earth. When the agents located all of those murdered people, they would not have looked for a Kryptonian. We would have all left Earth or would have died. Jason would have never been exposed to Kryptonite and Lois would have never discovered that I fathered a hybrid human on her." His shoulders slumped as he walked over to the sofa and sat down.

Following him Ceci knelt in front of him and forced him to look her in the eye. "Don't talk like that. Jason is a wonderful talented little boy who carries the best of your genes and Lois' genes. You have two beautiful children upstairs who have never injured anyone. In all the years you acted openly, you have only acted positively for the people of Earth. Please don't throw all of that away."

He looked at her sorrowfully. "I wish I could believe you Ceci. Look at what Zod and his minions did to all those innocent humans. Maybe that's what Kryptonians do. Maybe that's why my birth mother wanted me to be raised by humans, to humanize the dispassionate Kryptonian heart."

"She wanted future Kryptonians to be better beings than past Kryptonians. She was right to send you to us." Ceci stopped talking when they heard the twins stirring upstairs. "I guess I should let you get back to the mundane activities of a nursing parent. Bye Clark, I'll see you again soon." She walked to the door and opened it. "Mind my words Clark Kent. I'll be back soon."

"Good bye Ceci."

Ceci walked slowly to her car. She had a sinking feeling that she would never see Clark or his children again. Unrestrained tears rolled down her face but she resolved to contact the JLA to stop whatever Clark planned to do.

* * *

_**Watchtower Headquarters**_

Green Lantern and Wonder Woman stood on the teleportation platform in full battle regalia. "Team 1 is ready for transport to the Secretary General's office in 3, 2, 1, transport!" A bright light enveloped the pair and they rematerialized in front of the Secretary General's desk. He looked up from his computer to see the JLA duo.

"Help, help, guards, where are the guards?" He stood up and backed away from his desk still screaming at the top of his lungs.

Wonder Woman stepped forward attempting to reassure him that he would not be harmed. "Mr. Secretary General, we are not here to harm you. We are here to share with you a copy of your interrogation session. Watchtower has the ability to interrupt all television transmissions worldwide to broadcast what we are about to share with you. Please sit down and make yourself comfortable. The guards will not disturb us. My colleague set up a dampening field that cannot be penetrated short of a nuclear device."

Green Lantern just grinned. "You should listen to the lady!"

"You people tortured me. You're inhuman; nothing but criminals. Stay away from me!"

"We didn't so much as touch you. Look."

"You people lie. I was in pain for days after you released me. I didn't image it."

"Of course you didn't imagine it Mr. Secretary General. Just watch." Wonder Woman took a jump drive from a concealed pocket in her costume. The Secretary General watched with curiosity as she inserted the jump drive to a USB port. Within seconds, the Watchtower brig appeared on his computer screen. He sat down, fascinated but fearful of what he was about to see. He watched as the screen displayed Wonder Women and Batman questioning him; the only restraint was the loose loop of the Golden Lasso on his wrist. There were no whips, chains or exotic devices. He saw them leave him alone in the brig. Then he saw how he sustained his injuries and the fact that no one was in the room with him. His face shaded bright red.

"No, you people doctored the record. You're saying I did this to myself? It's impossible."

Wonder Woman looked slyly at him. "This is the record Mr. Secretary General and it will be released to the world in three minutes unless you agree to our demands."

"Which are?"

"All members of the Justice League are to be exonerated from all accusations of wrongdoing, immediately!"

The Secretary General looked at the computer screen's exposition of his erotic behavior. He swallowed deeply. "I can exonerate all except Superman. He is implicated in two murders. We will not rest until he is in custody."

Green Lantern looked at Wonder Woman. "It's the best we can do at the moment. I vote we accept.

Wonder Woman activated her communication link to the Watchtower conference room. "Batman, have you and the other members heard what has transpired here, over."

"Indeed we have Wonder Woman. The vote is unanimous; we accept the exoneration agreement, over."

"What should I tell the people about why I exonerated the League?

"That's your problem Mr. Secretary General but you can always tell them the truth." Activating her communication link, she said "two to transport to Watchtower. We look forward to your next speech before the end of the day. Good day, sir." The two vanished in a blinding flash of light. Later that afternoon, the Secretary General gave a long-winded explanation as to how he sustained his injuries in a poorly remembered accident **after** he left Watchtower. However, he exonerated the Justice League from all responsibility for his injuries.

* * *

_**Clark Kent's Home**_

It was close to midnight and Clark smiled to himself at the exoneration of the JLA. They were nothing if not ingenious. Total exoneration was terrific but the exoneration did not include him. How could he ever convince these people that he didn't wish them evil, his actions only aided people. He sat in his favorite rocking chair with the twins in each arm. They were awake and their little stomachs were full. He hummed an ancient tune to them then thought, it is time for them to begin to learn about their unique heritage.

_**The Creator of All Things formed a point of light and**_

_**He willed the point to expand into the great void.**_

_**He separated the void wide enough for his helpers to enter**_

_**They were the eternals, Rao, Sol and Despair.**_

_**The Creator told them to bring life not death to the Universe**_

_**Rao formed the Krypton star from the dust left by the Great Creator.**_

_**The star glowed blue white hot but he knew it would not burn forever.**_

_**He formed a planet from rocks and ice and put it far from the star.**_

_**He saw that the star was a thing of beauty; no one enjoyed it but him.**_

_**He searched throughout the growing Universe for proper life**_

_**He bonded chemicals together which changed and grew.**_

_**They became the great beasts and creatures of the world**_

_**Still no one enjoyed the beauty of Krypton**_

_**Krypton's star after many eons grew cold and dim**_

_**The beautiful hot blue white star changed to a red giant sun**_

_**For it burned its gas too fast**_

_**Still no one enjoyed the cold beauty of Krypton**_

_**Sol and Despair were also hard at work**_

_**Sol explored the growing universe **_

_**For discovering new life was his passion**_

_**He found a world in the Sagittarius sector with humanoid life suiting his fashion**_

_**Sol told Rao & Despair "the Creator gave us leave**_

_**To populate the Universe; He wants us to spread life everywhere.**_

_**You can bring creatures from here to tend and enjoy your worlds."**_

_**Rao decided to bring beings from there to enjoy the beauty of Krypton.**_

_**Sol, Rao and Despair returned to take people from the mother world in Sagittarius sector**_

_**Sol left his people here on Earth to prosper without interference**_

_**They chose two leaders, Adam and Eve to live near two great rivers**_

_**Then he left to follow the Creator and to tend to new dimensions.**_

_**Despair put his people on a dark planet **_

_**Where the only light came from fire pits in the ground.**_

_**Despair's people became angry and warlike perverting all good that they found. **_

_**His people called their world Apokolips while those on Earth called it Hell.**_

_**Rao nurtured and tended to his people's needs**_

_**He moved Krypton closer to the now red star but**_

_**Gravity became too great for them and to the ground they fell**_

_**That's when Rao saw Mirimara struggling to stand to dance for her people.**_

_**She was the keeper of their tribe's stories, for they could**_

_**Only be told in her song and dance.**_

_**Rao surrounded her and lifted her up**_

_**Red she glowed with the Light of Rao so she could sing the song of their lives.**_

_**Prim-El loved Mirimara more than life itself for she was his chosen one.**_

_**He was a great thinker and seeker of knowledge**_

_**He watched from the ground while Rao lifted Mirimara upward**_

_**Where she sang and danced with the ecstasy of life.**_

_**Prim-El struggled to stand and he towered over all of his people**_

"_**Rao, giver of Light, I challenge you for the Love of this woman**_

_**For she is solid as I am**_

_**While you are transparent like the wind.**_

_**Rao heard the challenge of the man on the ground**_

_**People trembled with fear and hid their faces**_

"_**Little man, you would challenge me, I who created this star**_

_**You have nothing that I need or want; go away, do not trouble me."**_

_**Rao placed Mirimara on the ground **_

_**And he took the form of a man of fire.**_

_**Mirimara cried tears of sorrow for the being of light**_

_**And the seeker of knowledge who would fight each other for her.**_

_**Prim-El stood his ground with his eyes fixed on Rao**_

_**Then Rao remembered the Creator's words to bring life, not death, to this world.**_

_**His energy entered the ground to spread to all parts of Krypton**_

_**Prim-El remained where he stood to challenge the creature of light.**_

_**Rao floated toward Prim-El, reaching out to touch both sides of his head**_

_**A circlet of light surrounded his brow where Rao touched him**_

_**Then Rao surrounded Prim-El entering his body so that the two became as one.**_

_**Rao knew that he would not ever again travel the great voids for he was forever tied to Krypton and its sun for the love of Mirimara.**_

_**Thus it was that the minds of Rao and Prim-El resided within one body. **_

_**When Prim-El spoke they knew that voice was also Rao's.**_

_**That night as the red sun set, Prim-El took Mirimara to wife.**_

_**With the passage of time, Prim-El grew in wisdom which he received from Rao.**_

_**Rao came to see his spirit live on forever in his many children**_

_**The energy which filled the world entered the water, trees and plants**_

_**To give all creatures and people great strength to stand and live.**_

_**They grew in wisdom and grace but some were perverted by Despair and Apokolips.**_

_**The Light of Rao can be seen in the birth of all Kryptonian children.**_

_**For under the red light of Krypton's sun the light of Rao will shine through**_

_**To herald the courage of Prim-El and Mirimara**_

_**To let all know that Rao the eternal will always be with us.**_

Clark's mind telepathically created mental images which he shared with the twins and with his son, Jason. The twins were relaxed and babbled softly while Clark told the story. Jason was mesmerized by the telepathic images Clark shared with him. He resolved to discuss this only with his father and siblings. Krypton's history now became his interest. He needed to discover more about his father's people.

Clark placed his infant children into their bassinettes, pulled them close to his bed and fell into a restful sleep. It was the first restful sleep he had had in days.

* * *

_**The Daily Planet Building, four weeks later**_

Clark carried his children to the Planet's day care center while he worked. His assignments were purposely limited to nearby, non-crisis topics. Perry received orders from the upstairs bosses to limit Clark's assignments outside of the building. Clark didn't really mind because he now he simply acted as if he was an invisible guardian angel. He quickly became known as the "Blur." Most of the people he rescued were too afraid to look at him so no one could say with certainty that it was Superman. They only cared about the fact that someone or something rescued them from certain death.

Lois' assignment upon return from extended bereavement leave was to investigate the reports of the "Blur." She argued with Perry loudly in his office. "Perry, you know he's still out there trying to rescue people. The only difference is that now he's moving so fast that no one can get a good look at him. I can't write this story; it'll only draw attention to him. In fact where is he? He's been avoiding me for weeks."

Perry was exasperated with ½ of his best reporting team. He turned to her. "The big wigs upstairs don't want him wandering around. You know the agents have tripled their resources to locate him. It's only a matter of time before they expose the "Blur" to Kryptonite. Then we'll know for sure. By the way, where's Clark? I just saw him a few minutes ago." He walked around his desk to yell out the door. "Olsen, where's Kent? I need him up here."

"He said he was going to check on the twins; he should be back in a few minutes." Jimmy sorted out pictures assisted by the intern, Alfredo.

"Well go speed him along. I need him pronto." He turned back to Lois. "Ask him yourself but I doubt if he'll give you a straight answer."

Jimmy took the elevator to the floor set up with the Daily Planet's Montessori School/Day Care Center. It was past 12:00 noon and Perry knew that Clark always spent his lunch hour feeding his children. He entered the day care center's office where the secretary told him that Clark was in private room #3. He walked down the hall and found room #3. He turned the knob and walked in to find Clark, without his jacket or dress shirt. He sat in a rocking chair nursing a very hungry Jordan. He was so distracted caring for the babies that he never heard Jimmy enter the room.

**"SHIT CLARK, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?"** Jimmy yelled at the top of his voice. Clark looked up totally aghast that he had forgotten to lock the door for privacy. Using super speed, he crossed the length of the room, pulling Jimmy inside. He then locked the door and unlatched the now frightened, crying infant. Jimmy watched in complete horror while Clark then sped back in his dress shirt and tie, a small amount of breast milk staining his shirt.

The day care's attendant arrived at the door and knocked desperately. "Mr. Kent, Mr. Kent, are you and the children okay? She dreaded what she might find on the other side. The story of Mr. Kent rescuing his children in Somalia and losing their mother was the stuff of legends at the Planet.

Clark adjusted his jacket to cover the breast milk stains. He slowly opened the door to the alarmed secretary. "Everything's okay Jennifer. Jimmy was playing a small joke on me. I fell asleep while feeding Jordan so he startled me awake, right Jimmy?"

"Jimmy looked at him in total amazement as if he was seeing Clark for the first time. A new awareness washed over him "Right CK, a small bad joke. Jennifer entered the small room to see that the children were wide awake, a half empty bottle in Jordan's bassinette while a full one sat on a small table for Karala. She began to get fussy so Clark picked her up and rocked her tenderly until she settled down. Through this all, Clark's heart raced with anxiety. Another person knew his secret. It became more difficult to hide and live a normal life.

Jennifer left the two men alone with the two babies. "I guess I have some explaining to do Jimmy. I'm sorry I hid the truth from you. It was for you safety. Fewer people knowing the truth about me the better."

"But Superman, CK, whoever you are, you've known me for years. Are you saying you didn't trust me? I thought you knew me better than that." Jimmy threw his hands in the air to emphasize his point.

"That's just it Jimmy. It's not you, it's me," responded Clark gently. "I trusted humans and now I'm being hunted like a wild animal. All I want is for the witch hunt to end; all I want is to raise my family in peace." Clark's voice hitched as he struggled to control his emotions.

"Rest assured, your secret is safe with me. But do you really need to breastfeed your children? You can buy formula so that we can help you care for them." Jimmy carefully picked up Jordan from his bassinette.

"They wouldn't survive on human formula or breast milk. My body produces the only milk that can sustain them. I must nurse them at least one full year before I can even consider giving them any food produced on Earth.

Jimmy began to get comfortable holding Jordan when he remembered why he came to the day care center in the first place. "By the way, Perry wanted me to tell you he needs to see you now."

Clark frowned because this could only mean trouble. He removed his iphone from an inner jacket pocket and called Perry's extension. "Hello Mr. White. This is Clark. I understand you're looking for me? I'm on my lunch break feeding the children; I'll see you in a few minutes." He then turned his attention to Jimmy. "I need to finish feeding my children so that I can return to work. Are we okay?"

Jimmy smiled and answered softly, "yeah, we're okay, Su… I mean CK. I'll see you upstairs." Jimmy left the day care with a new appreciation for the gentle self-effacing friend who sacrificed so much to save the people of Earth while trying to nurture the last of his race.

Clark completed nursing the babies and returned to the bull pen in response to Perry's request. He knocked at the door to find Lois sitting with Perry. "You wanted to see me Mr. White?"

Perry glanced up from his computer and muttered, "Come in Kent; we need to talk." Clark knew from his tone of voice that Perry meant business. "You and Lois have been partners for years and she's investigating these sightings about the "Blur." Go ahead Lois, take over from here. There are no secrets among us."

This was the first time that Lois encountered Clark since Richard's funeral. She knew he tried to see Jason on a regular basis but never remained to talk to her. She turned her sad eyes toward him and he could see her pain. He initiated the conversation. "Lois, I am so very sorry about Richard and Joanne. I didn't have the heart to intrude on your sorrow. I didn't want to worsen your pain so I thought to give you some time and space.

"Thanks Clark but you're the one I needed for the last four weeks" she responded sullenly." Every time I looked at the news there was a story about the agents getting closer to finding you. Then there were these rescues performed by someone dubbed the "Blur." All I could imagine was that you were jeopardizing your life still being the hero, rescuing people in distress."

Clark sighed deeply and stood up from his chair. Looking out the window, he replied just loud enough for them to hear, "yes Lois, I am the "Blur." I hear the cries of people in need all the time. I just can't ignore them. It would be on my conscience as long as I lived."

Lois immediately flipped into mad dog mode. "At this rate, you won't live very long. You need to lie low because someone will come after the Blur with a chunk of kryptonite and stop you dead in your tracks. You have no regard for those who care for you. You take huge unwarranted risks with your life. You now have a family relying on you. You need to stop your activities before you're caught. After all, you don't know loss like I do."

Clark tolerated Lois' tirade as long as he could. "This isn't about me; it's about you, Richard and Joanne. I know you're angry and need to vent your spleen somewhere so I'll be your whipping boy. Understand Lois, I know sorrow all too well. I lost you my chosen, my planet and my people. I have precious little left, only my children forced on me against my will and my very life. The humans will never get my children and I don't care about my life anymore." He turned on his heel and walked out the office despite protestations from Perry. Lois cried as if her heart would break. She had lost Richard and Joanne. Now in her grief and anger, she pushed Clark away.

Leaving all of his possessions behind, he went to the day care center and picked up his children. He flew up the stairwell to reach the roof with two baby carriers in tow. Spinning into the suit, he removed his cape and carefully wrapped the babies within it. "Okay guys. We're going north to our hideout." Thus Superman took his two infant children to his Fortress of Solitude to execute the next step in his plan to protect them.

* * *

_**To be continued…**_

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